THE  LIBRARY 


OF 


THE 


OF 


LOS 


UNIVERSITY 
CALIFORNIA 
ANGELES 


THE  CAMPING-OUT  SERIES. 


VOLUME    V. 


FOX-HUNTING, 


AS     RECORDED     BY     RAED. 


EDITED  BY  C.  A.   STEPHENS. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


BOSTON  : 
JAMES   R.  OSGOOD   AND  COMPANY, 

(LATE  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS,  AND  FIELDS,  OSGOOD,  &  co.) 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873, 

BY  JAMES  R.  OSGOOD  &  CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


Boston  : 
Stereotyped 'and  Printed  by  Rand,  A  very,  &*  Co. 


5  f 


NOTE. 


"TTTE  are  well  aware  that  the  title  of  our  little 
*  *  narrative  will  have  to  brave  public  opinion. 
Our  people  generally  despise  fox-hunting :  not  with- 
out pretty  good  reason,  it  is  to  be  feared ;  for  your 
local  fox-hunter  is  often  no  saint.  In.  short,  what 
the  "  impecunious  Bohemian  "  is  to  the  town,  the 
fox-hunter  is  to  the  country,  —  "  poor,  slack,  and 
shiftless,"  in  rustic  phrase;  "too  lazy  to  work," 
the  farmers  say  of  him. 

Furthermore,  fox-hunting,  considered  as  a  busi- 
ness, is  notoriously  unprofitable.  This  of  itself 
would  be  stigma  enough  in  any  average  Yankee 
community.  Our  people  have  a  radical  antipathy 
to  unremimerative  callings.  They  will  neither 
engage  in  such,  nor  yet,  so  far  as  public  sentiment 
goes,  allow  their  fellow-citizens  to  do  so.  Hence 


LIBRARY 


4  NOTE. 

a  hound  following  at  a  man's  heels,  and  claiming 
him  as  master,  discounts  his  owner's  character  at  a 
pretty  heavy  percentum. 

But,  beyond  these  considerations,  there  is  un- 
doubtedly another,  and  what  may  be  termed  an 
hereditary,  antipathy  to  this  sport.  In  England, 
the  squires,  even  the  lords  and  dukes,  used  to 
hunt  the  fox.  It  was  a  standard  amusement  with 
the  landed  gentry.  The  land  was  theirs,  and  they 
overrode  it  at  will :  fences  and  fields  were  no  bar- 
riers to  them.  Now,  the  class  of  people  who 
emigrated  from  Old  England  to  New  England  were 
not  of  the  fox-hunting  class :  they  were  of  the 
class  the  fox-hunters  had  overridden.  They 
brought  with  them  well-defined  objections  to  the 
sport.  Our  "  institutions "  were  projected  on  a 
different  plan.  No  troop  of  aristocrats  would  be 
allowed  to  ride  down  our  fences,  and  poach  our 
fields.  The  law  would  stop  them  promptly  ;  and, 
if  the  law  did  not,  something  else  would,  very 
quick.  Our  people  have  their  rights,  and  the 
temper  to  sustain  them. 

Nevertheless,  an  infusion  of  fox-hunting  blood 
must  have  come  over  even  in  "  The  Mayflower." 
It  crops  out  here  and  there.  In  every  inland  county 


NOTE.  5 

there  is  always  at  least  one  whose  instincts  declare 
the  fatherland,  be  it  never  so  rudely. 

But  we  should  not,  methinks,  deal  too  hardly 
with  this  hardy  old  Anglo-Norman  sport.  Much 
of  the  robust  English  health  started  here  ;  and  we 
cannot  but  hope  some  good  from  fox-hunting  on 
American  soil.  Our  youth,  our  young  ladies  espe- 
cially, are  lamentably  destitute  of  healthy  out-door 
sports.  The  ill  effects  of  this  lack  are  sad  enough, 
Heaven  knows,  to  fill  us  with  well-grounded  anxi- 
ety for  the  future,  lest  we  see  the  delicately-beauti- 
ful Anglo-American  fade  utterly  from  the  Western 
continent. 

Some  such  feeling  as  this  has  emboldened  us  to 
submit  the  account  of  an  attempt  to  Americanize-, 
in  a  clumsy  way,  this  grand  old  field-sport  of  our 

ancestors. 

J.  W.  E. 
Bosxox,  May,  1873. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

The  Old  "Curlew"  to  be  turned  into  a  Crack  Yacht.— Hamilton's 
"Metaphysics."— We  fall  into  Difficulties.  — Kit's  Letter.— A  Gay 
Young  Lady's  Advice  to  a  Youngster.  —  The  Fox-hunting  Scheme  .  11 

CHAPTER  H. 

The  Trip  to  Maine.  — The  Double  Wagon.  — A  Grand  Old  Fireplace. 

—  Some  Scorched  Overshoes.  —  "The  Freshman."  —  The  Latin  Les- 
son.—  "  Scribii,  scribere,  scratcheye,  scrinktum."  —  A  Talk  about 
Latin.  —  Some  Sweet  Cider,  and  how  it  was  made.  —  A  Good  Tem- 
plar. —  The  Thirteen-ineh  Sponge-Russets.  —  Some  Music  ...      18 

CHAPTER  HI. 

The  Hounds,  "Jim,"  "Nance,"  and  "  Ginx,"  with  Some  Account  of 
Each.  —  The ' '  Fox-Bait."  —  "  Whoa,  ye  kicking  old  Rep !  "  —  A  Four- 
dollar  Horse 31 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Chilly  Weather.  — The  Frozen  Lake.  —  Skating.  —  "  The  Fire-Eater  on 
Skates."  —  A  Trip  to  the  "Store."  —  Roundwood  Berries.  —  Robins. 

—  We  visit  Mr.  Graves's  School.  —  Some  Pretty  School-Girls.  —  The 
Pearl  of  the  Schoolroom.  —  The  Class  in  English  Analysis.  —  Intro- 
ductions.—  Miss  Kate  Edwards.  —  The  Pretty  Misses  Wilbur. — 
Wash  as  a  Ladies'  Man 37 

7 


«  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PAGE. 

The  Ball  on  the  Ice.  —  The  Beacon-Fires.  —  The  Supper-Table.  —  Some 
Stunning  Toilets.  —  Wash  Refulgent.  —  Wade  "  Refulgenter."  —  Miss 
"Jule."  —  Some  Rapid  Skating.  —  A  Grand  Rink.  —  A  Promenade 
with  Miss  Kate.  — The  "Poetry  of  Motion."  —  The  Hemlock-Top.  — 
A  Partridge. —A  Fox.  — What  a  Pretty  Girl  thought  of  Wash.  — A 
Race.  —  Wash  grows  Audacious.  —  A  Chat  with  Miss  Nell.  —  Going 
Home  with  Jule.  —  The  "  Ten-year-old."  —  Rather  a  Joke  ...  51 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Snow. — Wash  Ungrateful;  Wade  Regretful.  —  Ho  for  Fox-Hunting! 
—  A  Dull  Day.  —  A  New  Project  on  Foot. — A  New  Sort  of  Latin 
Lesson 70 


CHAPTER  Vn. 
TheFox-Hunt 76 

CHAPTER  VHL 

Trapping  Foxes.  — The  Fox-Bait.  —  Shooting  Foxes  by  Moonlight.— 
Cunning  Rogues.  —  Tenderer  Scenes.  —  Miss  Kate's  Admirer. — 
Where  were  Kit's  Eyes? 110 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Latin  in  the  Background. — Charades  and  Fair  Charaders. — A  Geo- 
graphical Game.  —  Wash  and  Mr.  Graves.  —  Wash  spends  an  Even- 
ing with  Miss  Kate,  and  afterwards  has  a  Little  Confidential  Chat 
with  the  Bed-Post.  —  Wash  talks  of  leaving  Town. — A  "Cross 
Gray  "  Fox.  —  Miss  Kate  has  a  New  Admirer.  —  Somewhat  of  Mys- 
tery   115. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Wash  defers  hearing  Nilsson.  —  Wade  shines.  —  Wash  presumes  to  give 
him  a  Word  of  Advice,  which  is  not  well  received.  —  Kit  gives 
an  Opinion.  —  Jule.  —  What  "Granny"  Sylvester  thought  of  it  as 
reported  by  the  "  Ten-year-old."  —  The  Usual  Reward  doubled.  — 
A  "  Martyr  in  a  Good  Cause  " 125 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER  XI. 

t  PAGE. 

A  Thaw.  —  Coasting.  —  Downing  Hill.  —  Some  Description  of  the  same. 
—  Four  Hundred  Feet  through  Space.  —  Nervous.  —  Mr.  Graves 
very  Nervous.  —  The  Old  Pung.  —  Wilkins's  Bend.  —  Some  fearfully 
Rapid  Coasting 131 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

More  Coasting. — The  Old  Pung  comes  to  Grief. — Long  "Trains."  — 
Toiling  up  with  Jule.  —  Rather  Late.  —  On  behind.  —  Snapped  at 
Wilkins's  Bend.  —  Jule  snaps  me.  —  A  Quarrel 143 

CHAPTER  XTTT. 

Another  "  Crisis."  —  Wade  in  Trouble :  he  waxes  Vehement,  and  talks 
of  risiting  his  Mother  in  Baltimore.  —  Meanwhile  I  catch  Sight  of  a 
Desirable  Vacancy,  and  become  a  Humorist.  —  "  Queerie  Days."  — 
Something  like  a  "  Glamour."  —  The  Fox-hunters'  Soiree  .  .  .  149 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Wash  has  the  Impudence  to  offer  me  Advice,  which  I  reject  with  Merit- 
ed Scorn.  —  Out  in  the  Barge  again.  —  A  Strange  Track.  —  Kit's 
Story.  —  The  Lumbermen.  —  Dan.  —  "  Gee,  Buck !  "  —  A  Wild  Ride 
along  a  " Logging  Road."  —  "Treed." — Smoked  out. — A  Scare. — 
Holding  the  Horses.  —  Felling  the  Hemlock.  —  The  Game  shows 
Fight.  —  A  Lively  Scrimmage.  —  Our  Fair  Companions  show  the 
"  White-Feather."  —  A  Fisher.  —  The  Ladies  refuse  to  ride  with  the 
Game .  155 

CHAPTER  XV. 

I  am  betrayed  into  contradicting  St.  Paul,  and  suffer  Amatory  Decapi- 
tation ;  but  am  constrained  to  vindicate  Miss  Kate.  —  I  also  feel  the 
Need  of  a  Change  of  Air.  —  Wash  and  Wade  console  me  with 
Worldly-minded  Philosophy.  —  We  congratulate  Mr.  Graves,  who 
eec-ms  much  confused 173 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

We  go  on  a  Moose-Hunt.  —  A  Thirteen-mile  Tramp.  —  A  Logger's 
Camp.  —  The  Party  from  Mattawamkeag.  —  Monson,  Jake,  and 
"Louis."  —  A  "  Moose -Yard."  —  "Driving  in  a  Moose."  —  We  buy 
instead  of  capturing  a  Moose.  —  "  Breaking  "  the  Animal.  —  A  Novel 
Sled.  —  Harnessing  a  Moose.  —  We  ride  Home.  —  The  very  Abrupt 
Departure  of  the  Freshman 180 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

PACE. 

We  give  our  Fair  Companions  an  Invitation  to  ride  behind  a  "  Tame 
Moose."  —  We  meet  the  "Morning  Stage."  —  A  Mutual  Panic. — 
"Dagon"runs  away  with  us.  —  A  Smash-up.  —  "  Dagon  "  escapes, 
after  shedding  his  Antlers.  —  All  Four  of  us  arrested.  —  "Trial- 
Justice  "  Hobbs.  —  Twenty  Dollars  and  Gouts 194 

CHAPTER  XVni. 

High  Times  at  the  Edwards's.  —  Carpe  Diem.  —  We  start  an  Opera.  — 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet."  —  Private  Buffoonery.  —  A  Masquerade.  — 
"  Hide-and-Seek."  —  The  Old  Chest. —  Kit  and  Kate.  —  Somewhat 
of  a  Revelation.  —  Capt.  Mazard's  Letter.  —  The  Yacht  done.  — 
Adieu  to  our  Lady  Friends 200 


NOTES  ON  THE  RED  Fox  ( Vulpes  fulvus) 206 

•  NOTES  ON  THE  MOOSE  (Alces  Americanus) 219 

THE  UHAY  WOLVES  OF  MAINE  248 


FOX-HUNTING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Old  "  Curlew  "  to  be  turned  into  a  Crack  Yacht.  —  Hamilton's 
"Metaphysics." — We  fall  into  Difficulties.  —  Kit's  Letter.  —  A 
Gay  Young  Lady's  Advice  to  a  Youngster.  —  The  Fox-hunting 
Scheme. 

IT  had  been  our  intention  to  sail  for  Europe  in  October, 
after  our  return  from  the  Geysers  in  August. 

But  a  matter  of  party  pride  came  up.  We  did  not 
care  to  present  ourselves  in  Old -World  waters  in  our 
roughly- appointed  schooner. 

"The  Curlew"  was  a  stanch,  new,  finely-modelled  craft, 
rakish  and  fleet  enough :  but  she  was  not  very  stylish ; 
decidedly  too  homely  for  European  ports.  The  more  we 
thought  of  it,  the  more  we  grew  sure  of  this.  Something 
stylish  and  "nobby,"  and,  withal,  fleet,  —  like  the  old 
"  America,"  —  was  our  dream.  We  could  not  think  of 
so  far  demeaning  our  national  yacht-reputation  as  to 
present  ourselves  in  the  English  Channel  on  the  present 


rough  vessel. 


11 


12  FOX-HUNTING. 

But  "  The  Curlew  "  had  "  good  points."  Capt.  Hazard 
declared  her  hull  couldn't  be  bettered.  To  finish,  refur- 
nish, and,  in  a  word,  turn  the  schooner  into  a  gay,  crack 
yacht,  with  "  grand  saloon  "  and  state-rooms,  and  perhaps 
rechristen  her  as  "The  Rambler,"  or  something  of  that 
sort,  —  all  to  the  tiine  of  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand, 
—  was  our  scheme.  Capt.  Mazard  undertook  to  superin- 
tend the  job.  But  we  could  not  count  on  her  being 
ready  for  sea  again  before  March  or  April.  We  set  our- 
selves, therefore,  to  pass  the  winter  in  study ;  and,  in 
order  to  make  a  brave  beginning,  we  entered  on  the 
month  of  November  with  Hamilton's  "  Metaphysics." 

In  explanation,  I  should  say  that  we  had  feared  that 
perhaps  so  much  Tyndall  and  Darwin  might  be  too 
physical.  A  well-meaning  but  utterly  deluded  elderly 
friend  had  recommended  Hamilton's  "  Metaphysics  "  as 
a  work  well  calculated  to  restore  the  proper  intellectual 
equipoise.  We  immediately  invested  in  four  volumes  of 
Bowen's  American  edition,  and  fell  to  work.  Kit,  mean- 
while, had  to  return  to  Maine ;  but  he  took  his  "  Hamil- 
ton," and  agreed  to  keep  pace  with  us,  and  report  every 
week. 

Our  programme  was  to  thoroughly  master  twelve  pages 
per  diem,  five  days  in  a  week.  Never  was  there  a  better- 
laid  or  a  more  conscientious  plan.  But,  to  my  chagrin, 
I  can  but  record  that  the  result  achieved  during  the  next 
fortnight  is  best  typified  by  an  utter  hiatus,  —  perfectly 
void  of  any  thing  definite  or  tangible. 

Nothing  disrespectful  to  the  learned  author  or  editor  is 
for  a  moment  to  be  inferred.  Of  so  respectable  a  work  as 
Hamilton's  "  Metaphysics  "  I  always  feel  to  speak  guard- 


FOX-HUNTING.  13 

edly,  if  at  all.  I  have  no  sort  of  doubt  that  Sir  William 
Hamilton  was  a  great  man,  a  transcendent  philosopher. 
It  was  Wash  who  first  headed  an  insurrection  against 
him,  in  which  Wade  perversely  joined.  They  both  burned 
their  books,  and  started  for  Cambridge  to  hunt  up  the 
Alford  professor.  I  believe  they  wanted  to  ask  him  a 
few  civil  questions. 

That  night  there  came  a  letter  from  Kit.  His  first 
weekly  letter  had  not  come  as  promised.  He  wrote,  — 

"DEAR  FELLOWS,  — How  goes  it?  and  how  get  you 
on  with  Hamilton  ?  What  lively  stuff  this  metaphysics 
is !  I  dare  say  you're  progressing  famously.  But, 
fellows,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  can't  say  as  much  for  my- 
self. I,  in  short,  have  given  it  up,  — the  whole  thing, 
—  and  burnt  the  book;  for  I  don't  mean  to  have  it  lying 
round  to  remind  me  of  defeat.  I  suppose  Eaed  will 
think  this  is  an  evidence  of  mental  weakness  ;  and  I 
expect  it  is :  but  I  can't  help  it.  Money  wouldn't  tempt 
me  to  begin  on  that  volume  again.  Somehow  it  doesn't 
agree  with  my  infirmities  at  all ;  aggravates  'era.  But 
really,  Raed,  I  begun  on  the  thing  with  all  honesty  and 
good  will.  I  went  over  almost  a  hundred  pages.  I 
meant  and  expected  to  get  some  idea  as  to  what  the 
mind  is,  and  how  it  thinks ;  and,  all  through  the  first 
seventy-five  pages,  I  kept  thinking  I  should  shortly  come 
out  to  something  definite,  till  I  got  utterly  confounded. 

"  It's  my  private  opinion  that  the  old  fellow  didn't  know 
what  he  was  talking  about.  Yes,  sir ;  I  got  so  tremen- 
dously muddled,  that  I  didn't  actually  know  enough  to 
undress  myself  nights.  Fact.  I  actually  got  into  bed 


14  FOX-HUNTING. 

with  my  hat  on  two  nights  in  succession.  When  it 
came  to  that,  I  thought  I  had  better  take  off  Hamilton. 
You  see,  perception,  apperception,  sub-apperception, 
super-apperception,  super-sub-apperception,  got  so  twist- 
ed up  in  my  head,  that  I  couldn't  think  straight. 

"  Grandmother  did  really  suspect  that  I  had  '  taken  to 
drink '  at  first.  Then  she  got  alarmed,  and  gave  Wealthy 
private  instructions  to  watch  me  on  the  sly,  and  find  out 
where  I  got  it ;  for  I  used  to  take  the  book  in  my 
pocket,  and  walk  off  along  the  road  to  read  and  reflect. 
Evenings,  the  old  lady  eyed  me  anxiously  over  her  knit- 
ting. I  don't  know  what  she  thought  ailed  me ;  I  wasn't 
in  a  state  to  consider  :  but  I  know  she  has  seemed 
••greatly  relieved  since  I  burned  the  book.  Probably  the 
symptoms  are  less  alarming. 

"Really,  Raed,  I've  not  half  so  good  an  idea  of  what 
the  mind  is  as  I  had  before  I  began  Hamilton.  The 
learned  philosopher  has  led  me  a  most  confusing  chase. 
Reminds  me  forcibly  of  the  way  I  got  served  half  a 
dozen  years  ago,  when  I  was  at  school  at  W.  I  was 
nothing  but  a  boy  then,  you  know.  One  day  we  had 
visitors,  —  a  whole  bevy  of  pretty  girls  (strictly  speaking, 
I  suppose  I  ought  to  say  a  gal-axy).  'Twas  a  full  term. 
Myself,  and  the  fellow  that  sat  with  me,  had  to  give  up 
our  seat  to  the  company,  and  take  a  front-seat  on  the 
other  side  of  the  room. 

"  I  well  remember  one  of  the  girls.  She  was  a  black - 
eyed  little  Jezebel.  She  glued  my  eyes,  first  thing.  I 
was  just  such  a  little  Nimshi  then  as  to  sit  and  ogle. 
She  caught  me  at  it,  and  kept  catching  me  all  the 
afternoon.  By  and  by  I  saw  her  writing  in  my  Reader, 


FOX-HUNTING.  15 

and  turning  over  the  leaves.    Better  believe  I  felt  curious 
enough ! 

"  As  soon  as  they-  had  gone,  I  pounced  on  the  Reader, 
and  opened  it  near  the  first  part,  where  she  had  turned 
down  a  leaf.  There  I  saw,  — 

'  If  my  name  you  wish  to  see, 
Turn  to  page  403.' 

"  I  instantly  turned,  and  found  on  the  margin,  — 

'  Saucy  boy  with  the  little  pig-eye, 
What  makes  you  look  so  awful  shy  ? 
Turn  to  page  308  : 
Something  there  doth  thee  await.' 

"  Sheepish,  but  eager  still,  I  shuffled  over,  and  dis- 
covered, — 

'Pretty  boy  with  loppy  ears, 
Calm  your  silly,  childish  fears  : 
Hie  to  page  402  ; 
Something  there  I've  writ  for  you.' 

"  Beginning  to  get  indignant,  but  with  unabated  curi- 
osity, I  looked  over  to  the  page  indicated,  and  espied,  — 

'  Boy,  it  will  be  many  a  year 
Before  your  mustache  will  appear. 
Wait  with  patience  :  I  may  sign 
My  full  name  on  29.' 

"  Mad  as  a  hen,  I  whirled  back,  and  found,  — 

'Changed  my  mind.    But  don't  you  fret : 
You're  nothing  but  a  shaver  yet. 
Don't  you  think  I'm  rather  pretty  ? 
Look  on  page  130.' 


10  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  This  was  awful ;  but  I  turned  with  vindictive  haste, 
to  find,  — 

'  Bubby-boy,  this  never'll  do  : 
You  must  learn  a  thing  or  two. 
Take  my  advice,  you  little  cub : 
Never  stare  at  ladies,  bub.' 

"Metaphysically  speaking,  Hamilton  has  given  me  just 
about  such  a  chase.  Only  Black-Eyes  did  me  neatly 
and  completely,  besides  giving  me  one  of  the  most  use- 
ful lessons  I  ever  learned ;  whereas  Hamilton  has  bored 
me  half  to  death,  and,  withal,  got  me  into  a  hopeless 
muddle.  If  I  could  only  wipe  all  this  metaphysical  con- 
fusion out  of  my  mind  as  easily  as  I  rubbed  Black-Eyes' 
pencillings  out  of  my  Reader,  I  should  be  well  satisfied. 

"  Candidly,  Raed,  I  don't  believe  it  pays  to  torture 
one's  reasoning  powers  with  the  tortuous  platitudes  of 
these  old  philosophers.  It's  plain  enough  that  they  know 
next  to  nothing  about  the  mind.  Mental  action  and 
consciousness  doubtless  proceed  from  certain  simple  con- 
ditions of  matter  and  motion  thus  far  inscrutable. 
These  old  fellows  make  the  mind  out  to  be  a  fear- 
fully complex  thing  in  their  utter  ignorance  of  vital 
physics.  I  repeat,  I  don't  believe  it  pays  to  confound 
one's  self  with  their  long-spun  lucubrations.  If  one 
was  shut  up  in  a  monastery,  it  might  pay  to  study 
Hamilton  by  way  of  killing  time ;  though  I  submit  that 
time  would  die  hard.  So  I  shall  go  back  to  Tyndall 
and  Huxley  and  Youman  and  Darwin.  Those  scien- 
tific fellows,  at  least,  do  know  something  of  what  they 
are  talking  about:  the  metaphysician  don't,  —  the  way 


FOX-HUNTING.  17 

I  look  at  it.  They  are  a  mere  set  of  guessers,  and  dull 
ones  at  that.  Any  Yankee  could  outguess  them  on  their 
own  grounds ;  and  would,  if  it  were  a  paying  business. 
I  don't  know,  fellows,  that  your  experience  has  heen  any 
thing  like  mine.  But,  by  way  of  getting  back  to  my 
former  life,  I'm  going  into  fox-hunting ;  and  I  wisli  you 
would  come  down.  I'll  show  you  some  sport.  I've  got 
hounds  and  a  famous  fox-bait;  also  snow-shoes,  and 
every  thing  necessary  for  a  jolly  burst  at  it.  Now,  don't 
disappoint  me.  Let's  have  a  dash  at  Nature  to  brush 
away  these  metaphysical  cobwebs." 

"  Hurrah ! "  Wash  shouted  as  I  read  off  this  invita- 
tion.    "  Bless  the  fellow !     Of  course  we  will  go ! " 
a 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Trip  to  Maine.  —  The  Douhle  Wagon.  —  A  Grand  Old  Fire- 
place. —  Some  Scorched  Overshoes.  —  "  The  Freshman."  —  The 
Latin  Lesson.  —  "  Scribo,  scribere,  scratcheye,  scrinktum."  —  A  Talk 
about  Latin.  —  Some  Sweet  Cider,  and  how  it  was  made.  —  A 
Good  Templar.  —  The  Thirteen-inch  Sponge-Russets.  —  Some 
Music. 

~TT"7~E  went  down  to  Portland  Monday  afternoon. 

V  V  Tuesday  was  a  bitter  day,  a  stinging  day,  cold 
and  leaden  as  the  realm  of  Dis.  Late  in  the  afternoon, 
we  arrived,  chilled  to  the  marrow,  at  the  memorable 
"  forks  "  of  the  road,  and  stumbled  out  of  the  stage  in 
a  state  of  torpor.  Kit  was  there  with  a  double  wagon, 
waiting,  muffled  up  in  buffaloes.  His  purple-red,  cheery 
face  was  welcome  enough  in  itself.  We  were  all  too 
benumbed  to  say  much  after  a  wintry  "  How  are  ye  ?  " 
and  "  Pile  in  ! " 

Kit  threw  in  our  guns,  trunks,  &c. ;  then  tucked  the 
buffaloes  round  us,  and  drove  off  at  a  great  rate,  both 
horses  on  a  gallop,  along  the  hulbly  road.  Before  our 
teeth  had  bad-time  to  fairly  chatter  out  another  tattoo, 
the  wagon  rumbled  into  the  yard,  and  pulled  up  with 
a  jerk  that  came  near  robbing  ine  of  the  tip  of  my 
tongue. 

18 


FOX-HUNTING.  19 

"Grandmother^"  fair,  broad,  pleasant  countenance 
was  in  the  door.  To  do  her  justice,  she  pretty  nearly 
filled  it,  as  I  dimly  perceived  through  frosty  eye-lashes. 
"  Grandfather,"  with  white  hair,  but  blue  eyes,  came 
sturdily  out  to  take  the  team.  Kit  led  the  way ;  and  we 
all  made  a  rush  through  to  the  sitting-room,  where,  in  a 
fireplace  that  might  have  sufficed  for  Valhalla,  there 
flamed  and  roared  a  bonfire  fit  to  celebrate  the  presidential 
election.  We  charged  up  to  it;  but  the  hot  blast  against 
our  faces  arrested  us. 

"  You'll  burn  yourselves  ! "  Kit  exclaimed,  and  uncere- 
moniously pulled  us  back  by  the  coat-tails.  But,  with 
a  half-frozen  person's  infatuation,  we  kept  crowding  up 
for  some  seconds,  and,  in  truth,  kept  Kit  dragging  us 
back. 

"  Man  alive ! "  he  shouted,  catching  Wade  around  the 
waist  from  behind.  "  You'll  burn  your  boots  to  a  cin- 
der, and  your  pants  too  !  Get  back  to  these  chairs  I've 
set.  You'll  be  hot  enough  there,  I  promise  you,  in  three 
minutes.  Whew ! "  for  Wash's  overshoes  had  begun  to 
smoke  with  a  terrific  stench  of  caoutchouc. 

Finally,  but  not  till  were  all  more  or  less  yellowed,  we 
were  bullied,  and  pulled  back  about  ten  feet  to  the  ring 
of  chairs.  And,  indeed,  that  was  as  near  as  prudence 
would  allow  of,  as  we  soon  perceived.  I  never  saw  such 
a  fire  in-doors.  It  was  absolutely  dangerous.  Such  a 
roar  of  devouring  flames  !  In  front,  on  a  pair  of  gigan- 
tic "  dogs,"  lay  a  rock-maple  fore-stick  as  big  round  as  a 
barrel;  while  behind  was  piled  in  four-foot  wood,  —  not 
quite  half  a  cord,  perhaps,  but  certainly  as  much  as  we 
could  all  four  have  carried  at  once. 


20  FOX-HUNTING. 

When  we  rushed  in,  all  this  mass  of  heat-emitting 
maple  was  well  under  way. 

"  But  where  are  the  girls,  —  Miss  Nell  and  Miss  Weal- 
thy?" Wade  asked. 

Surely  I  had  missed  Sunshine. 

"At  school,"  said  Kit.  "Be  at  home  soon,  though. 
Winter  school  is  in  session  now." 

Grandmother  came  in  with  a  pitcher  of  ginger-tea, 
her  standard  antidote  for  chills  of  all  sorts.  We  all 
drank  of  it  on  general  principles.  Kit  grinned  encour- 
agingly- While  this  was  going  on,  talking  and  laugh- 
ing were  heard  from  without.  The  door  opened ;  and  a 
tall  young  man  with  a  very  handsome  countenance  passed 
through  the  sitting-room  into  the  front  hall.  I  noticed 
that  he  wore  a  black  overcoat  of  not  very  modern  cut, 
and  had  on  dark  pants.  I  have  rarely  seen  a  better 
face,  or  a  prettier  dark  hazel  eye.  He  had  not  removed 
his  hat.  Evidently  our  presence  there  was  a  surprise  to 
him ;  for  he  glanced  rather  astonishedly  at  us,  but  at 
once  assumed  a  dignified  mien,  which  assured  me  that 
he  had  seen  comparatively  little  of  the  world. 

"  Who  was  that  ?  "  asked  Wash. 

"  Oh !  that's  the  schoolmaster,  Mr.  Graves,"  said  Kit. 
"  He  boards  here.  I'll  introduce  you  this  evening. 
He's  a  freshman  from  Bowdoin ;  teaching  to  help  out 
his  education,  I  believe.  Quite  a  retiring,  modest  sort 
of  a  fellow.  Still  he  doesn't  think  small-beer  of  him- 
self: I  promise  you  that  much.  Counts  a  good  deal  on 
being  a  college-student;  more  on  that  than  on  his  own 
abilities,  I  sometimes  fancy.  Look  at  the  two  big 
lexicons  on  the  table  there !  Studies  evenings  ;  and  he 


FOX-HUNTING.  21 

gives  the  girls  Latin  lessons  too.  Oh,  he's  great  on 
Latin  and  geometry  !  Can  give  every  theorem  in  the 
first  four  books  of '  Davies's  Legendre '  verbatim,  he  told 
me.  But  it  surprised  him  considerably  to  see  me  use 
the  theodolite,  as  we  did  last  September.  He  won- 
dered where  I  had  learned  so  much.  'Why/  said  he, 
'we  don't  have  that  till  the  sophomore-year  down  at 
Bowdoin !'  I  told  him  we  had  it  the  freshman-year  on 
our  yacht.  Since  that,  he's  been  a  little  shy ;  doesn't 
expatiate  on  the  wonders  of  geometry  so  much  as  he  did ; 
and  he  eyes  that  theodolite  up  in  my  room  as  if  it  were 
Jack  in  a  box. 

"But  he  is  a  good  fellow,"  Kit  concluded  a  little 
hastily. 

Nevertheless,  I  detected  just  the  least  bit  of  despite 
in  this  description,  at  which  I  wondered  a  little  ;  for  Kit 
is  rarely  or  never  malicious  in  this  way.  It  puzzled  me, 
and  kept  recurring  a  score  of  times  within  the  next 
fortnight.  Afterwards  I  got  a  glimpse  of  the  reason. 

At  supper  we  had  the  pleasure  of  making  Mr.  Graves's 
acquaintance.  He  was  rather  reserved;  and  his  style 
of  conversation  was  decidedly  bookish.  Latin-derived 
adjectives  of  three  and  even  four  syllables  encumbered 
his  talk.  Worse  still,  he  evidently  plumed  himself  on 
their  use,  and  introduced  a  more  than  usual  number  for 
our  benefit.  This  would  have  made  him  a  bore  of  the 
"  first  water,"  had  he  not  displayed  —  quite  uncon- 
sciously —  glimpses  of  original  thought,  and,  unless  I 
mistook,  a  sterling  character  at  bottom.  I  drew  him 
into  some  talk  about  the  studies  pursued  at  Bowdoin. 
He  made  mention  of  them  with  a  mixture  of  pride  and 


22  POX-HUNTING. 

waggisbness  ;  wliicli  is,  I  believe,  peculiar  to  college-stu- 
dents of  the  first  and  second  years.  I  referred  to  the 
custom  of  "hazing"  freshmen.  This  at  length  set  his 
tongue  running.  He  let  go  his  Latin  adjectives,  and 
related  "hazing  tricks  "with  a  gusto  which  set  us  all 
a-laughing,  more  at  his  relish  of  them  than  of  the  pranks 
themselves ;  for  these  latter  struck  me  as  being  rather 
stale :  and  I  could  but  wonder  at  the  enthusiasm  with 
which  this  Latinized  young  fellow  recounted  the  emp- 
tying of  slop-buckets  on  the  heads  of  his  fellow-students. 
But  college-fellows  have,  I  remembered,  a  weakness 
for  such  salutes.  Perhaps  Nature  thus  revenges  her- 
self for  too  much  "  dead  languages  "  by  giving  them  up 
to  coarse  practical  jokes  which  outsiders  can  but  regard 
with  derision. 

Wash  and  Wade  were  meanwhile  chatting  and  laugh- 
ing with  the  girls.  I  sincerely  hoped  Wash  would  have 
the  grace  to  behave  himself;  for  a  long  acquaintance 
with  him  had  taught  me,  that,  once  well  off  on  a  frolic, 
he  never  knows  when  to  stop.  From  knocking  about 
on  a  yacht,  one  is  apt  to  get  out  of  the  grooves  of  social 
propriety,  and  gain  a  proficiency  in  phrases  rather  s]>i<'ij 
for  family  use.  Indeed,  this  is  one  of  the  evils  we  have 
to  keep  watch  and  ward  over. 

It  was  a  source  of  „ relief  to  me  to  observe,  from  time 
to  time,  that  the  old  lady  was  smiling  kindly,  and 
giving  us  all  the  full  tide  of  her  grandmotherly  sym- 
pathy. 

As  for  Kit,  he  magnanimously  devoted  himself  to  the 
care  and  replenishing  of  our  plates ;  in  short,  made  a 
"  table-girl "  of  himself,  and  a  very  attentive  one. 


FOX-HUNTING.  23 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  the  Freshman  regarded  us  all 
with  a  magisterial  eye,  and  that  both  the  girls  paid  him 
a  vast  stipend  of  awe  -and  admiration,  enforced  mainly, 
no  doubt,  by  those  four-syllabled  adjectives.  I  took 
note  that  the  word  "  inscrutable,"  repeated  twice  in  the 
course  of  the  meal,  made  them  fairly  catch  their  breaths, 
and,  if  I  did  not  fancy  it,  caused  even  the  old  lady  to 
show  the  white  of  her  eye  for  a  moment. 

Ah !  this  national  schoolmaster  of  ours  is  a  power  in 
the  land. 

We  were,  of  course,  anxious  to  see  the  hounds  and  the 
mysterious  fox-bait  Kit  had  hinted  at ;  but  it  was  dark 
ere  we  had  finished  supper. 

"Better  wait  till  to-morrow  morning,  I  guess,"  Kit 
remarked  aside.  "  ~\Ve  shall  need  daylight  for  it." 

So  all  hands  adjourned  to  the  sitting-room  again  ;  and 
an  era  of  general  sociability  began.  It  soon  appeared, 
however,  that  these  evenings  were,  in  part  at  least,  de- 
voted to  study,  and  that  a  certain  Latin  lesson  was  due 
from  the  girls.  Indeed,  I  had  all  along  noticed  that 
they  were  rather  nervously  turning  over  a  couple  of  me- 
dium-sized volumes  in  that  dark-green  cloth  sacred  to 
the  text  of  Prof.  Harkness ;  and  at  length  Mr.  Graves 
inquired  preliminarily  whether  that  "  lesson "  were 
committed. 

Miss  Nell  replied,  a  little  anxiously,  to  the  effect  that 
they  would  wish  to  put  it  over  till  to-morrow.  The  rea- 
son was  apparent  enough.  It  was  not  surprising  that 
they  did  not  care  to  recite  Latin  before  a  roomful  of 
young  gentlemen.  But  the  master  was  quite  unwilling 
to  excuse  them.  I  think  he  felt  a  little  proud  of  his 


24  FOX-HUNTING. 

class ;  possibly  proud  of  his  Latin.  We  hastened  to 
assure  them  that  we  should  be  utterly  unable  to  criti- 
cise ;  and,  after  considerable  hesitation,  the  recitation 
commenced.  It  was  the  conjugation  of  audio  in  the  ac- 
tive voice,  together  with  questions  relative  to  the  parts 
of  Latin  verbs  of  the  third  and  fourth  conjugations. 

As  to  the  merits  of  the  recitation,  it  Would  be  rash  for 
the  writer  to  hazard  an  opinion ;  but  it  seemed  to  be 
given  with  very  considerable  fluency.  There  were  a 
few  hesitations ;  but  these,  I  am  convinced,  were  oc- 
casioned rather  by  our  embarrassing  presence  than  from 
negligence  in  study. 

Mr.  Graves  was  very  accurate  with  the  parts  of  the 
Latin  verbs.  They  seemed  to  flash  out  from  his  memory 
with  the  nicety  of  steel  plate.  He  had  a  mind  that 
would  take  a  sharp  discipline,  and  retain  it :  so  I  judged. 
But  this  finished  exactitude  held  the  young  ladies  in  a 
good  deal  of  awe. 

"The  parts  of  scribo,  if  you  please,  Miss  Wealthy?" 
he  asked. 

"  Scribo,  scribere,"  began  Wealthy  bravely  enough  ; 
but  happening  at  that  instant  to  catch  Wade's  black, 
attentive  eye,  she  stumbled,  made  a  mess  of  it,  and 
stopped  short  in  blushing  confusion.  It  hurt  my  feel- 
ings fairly. 

"  Why,  Wealth  ! "  cried  Kit.  "  Forgotten  scribo  ! 
Just  as  easy  as  to  snap  your  fingers,  —  scribo,  scribere, 
scratcheye,  scrinktum  !  " 

He  said  it  mischievously ;  and  the  outrageousness 
of  the  parody  amused  us  all  prodigiously,  except  the 
teacher.  I  saw  in  a  moment  that  he  was  hurt  or 


FOX-HUKTING.  25 

offended;  both,  perhaps.  He  said  nothing,  save  to 
gravelj-  set  Miss  Wealthy  right;  at  which  Kit  seemed 
all  the  more  amused. 

I  wondered  again  at  this  almost  imperceptible  flavor 
of  spite.  I  thought,  for  a  moment,  that  Wash  seemed  to 
notice  it  a  little  curiously ;  bu£  subsequent  events  have 
rendered  him  rather  reticent  on  that  and  kindred  topics. 
It  passed ;  and  a  desultory  conversation  on  the  merits 
of  Latin,  as  a  study,  sprang  up. 

Mr.  Graves  urged  that  the  study  of  Latin  was  neces- 
sary, because  hundreds  and  thousands  of  our  words  in 
every-day  use  were  made  of  Latin  word-roots,  with 
Latin  prefixes  and  suffixes.  Unless  a  person  understood 
the  meanings  and  uses  of  these,  he  could  never  be 
classed  as  a  well-educated  person. 

"  But,"  argued  Kit,  "  do  not,  to  a  far  greater  extent 
too,  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  word-roots  enter  into  and 
make  up  the  very  warp  and  woof  of  the  English  lan- 
guage ?  and  yet  you  say  nothing  about  studying  these, 
—  the  language  of  our  ancestors.  Why  do  you  urge  so 
long  and  exhaustive  a  study  of  Latin  and  Greek,  and 
entirely  slight  the  old  Saxon  tongue?" 

No  better  reply  occurred  to  Mr.  Graves  than  to  say 
that  both  should  be  studied ;  the  one,  perhaps,  as  much 
as  the  other. 

"  But  how  can  the  old  Norse  languages  be  studied, 
when  all  a  man's  youth  is  used  up  on  Caesar,  Sallust, 
Cicero,  Virgil,  Horace,  Tacitus,  Xenophon,  Homer,  De- 
mosthenes, and  Sophocles  ?  "  demanded  Kit. 

And  so  they  had  it.  Both  were  in  earnest,  taking  . 
fair  and  serious  grounds  for  argument.  Mr.  Graves 


26  FOX-HUNTING. 

especially  contended,  that  in  law,  in  theology,  and  in 
medicine,  as  also  in  the  nomenclature  of  natural  history, 
botany,  and  physiology,  a  knowledge  of  Latin  was  ab- 
solutely necessary  in  order  that  a  student  may  under- 
standingly  pursue  his  professions  and  studies. 

It  seemed  so.  I  thought  he  made  out  a  very  strong 
case  on  this  latter  point. 

But  we  all  agreed  with  Kit,  that  the  time  spent  on 
Greek  and  Latin  was  disproportionate ;  that  these  lan- 
guages were  allowed  to  take  up  far  too  much  time. 

Wash  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  one  year  of  Latin 
and  Greek  would  be  as  much  time  as  could  be  justly  set 
apart  for  them. 

Kit  thought  a  second  year  should  be  spent  on  Old 
English  and  the  Norse  tongues. 

Mr.  Graves  did  not  agree  with  us ;  but  he  admitted 
that  Latin  occupied  more  time  than  could,  with  justice, 
be  given  it.  He  argued,  however,  that  the  course  of 
studies  pursued  at  college  (Bowdoin)  was  about  as  good 
a  one  as  could  be  laid  down. 

Kit  laughed  at  this  opinion  :  he  believed,  with  the  rest 
of  us,  that  scientific  studies  should  occupy  a  full  two- 
thirds  of  the  time. 

I  felt  sure,  however,  that  the  "flavor  of  spite  "  which 
I  had  fancied  to  exist  between  them  did  not  originate  in 
their  diverse  opinions  on  educational  matters.  They 
were  both  perfectly  fair  and  candid  in  argument,  and 
showed  no  signs  of  losing  temper.  I  began  to  think  I 
had  been  mistaken  altogether  as  to  it. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  we  might  get  some  benefit  from 
Mr.  Graves's  Latin  ;  and,  since  he  had  argued  so  stoutly 


FOX-HUNTING.  27 

for  it,  I  asked  him,  as  a  favor,  to  make  out  for  us  a  list 
of  one  hundred  Latin  words  that  entered  most  fre- 
quently in  the  "  compounds  "  of  our  language,  together 
with  their  u  roots,"  and  a  few  common  derivatives  as 
examples  of  the  way  these  derivatives  are  formed.  He 
seemed  pleased  with  the  idea ;  and  I  was  glad  to  see  that 
he  looked  upon  the  request  as  a  compliment  to  his  argu- 
ments. He  promised  to  do  so  in  the  course  of  a  week. 

Kit  and  Miss  Nell  had  gone  out  meanwhile.  From 
certain  sounds  of  talk  which  seemed  to  come  up  through 
the  floor,  I  concluded  they  were  down  cellar.  Presently 
they  re-appeared  from  the  dining-room,  —  Kit  with  a 
willow-basket  of  apples  (sponge-russets,  of  fabulous  size), 
and  Miss  Nell  with  a  large  pitcher  and  glasses.  The 
pi  teller  was  soon  declared  to  contain  cider;  at  which 
Wash  held  up  his  hands  in  comical  despair.  He  is  a 
"  Good  Templar." 

But  is  a  Good  Templar  really  holden  to  resist  cider 
when  poured  out  by  a  pretty  girl  who  playfully  raises 
her  own  glass  "  to  touch "  ?  Well,  all  is,  I  know  one 
Good  Templar  who  didn't ;  though  I  am  bound  in  honor 
not  to  disclose  his  name. 

•  There  is  always  a  dodge  with  cider,  however.  Cider  is 
of  two  kinds,  — sweet  cider  and  sour  cider.  Just  where 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  two  obtains  place 
is  not  very  clear.  Perhaps  it  is  not  fixed.  I  never 
knew  a  Good  Templar  who  ever  drank  sour  cider ;  and, 
now  I  think  of  it,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  sour 
cider  is  wholly  a  myth. 

Sweet  cider  is,  as  everybody  knows,  a  very  innoxious 
beverage. 


28  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Is  it  sweet  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Certainly,  sir,"  replied  Kit  blandly.  "Just  tapped. 
Try  it." 

I  tried.  .  .  .  Such  cider!  Never  tasted  any  thing  like 
it !  It  did  have  a  little  of  "  the  fuddle  "  to  it ;  but,  of 
course,  that  had  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  its  sweetness. 
It  was  as  rich  in  color  as  port  wine. 

We  learned  that  this  barrel  was  a  sort  of  "fatted  calf" 
which  Kit  had  been  keeping,  and  had  only  tapped  in 
honor  of  our  arrival ;  and,  as  this  barrel  of  cider  is  a 
good  deal  mixed  up  with  my  narrative,  I  may  be  par- 
doned some  gossip  concerning  it  and  its  general  get-up. 
In  the  first  place,  it  was  made  of  grafted  fruit  exclu- 
sively,—  Baldwins,  Greenings,  and  Scotch-sweets.  So 
far  as  practicable,  all  wormy  apples  had  been  thrown  out. 
This  circumstance  was  a  comforting  one  ;  for,  generally 
speaking,  each  barrel  of  merchantable  cider  made  since 
the  year  of  grubs  (1861)  contains  the  juices  of  about  — 
at  a  moderate  estimate  —  forty  thousand  fat  white 
worms !  To  resume,  the  apples  had  been  carefully 
sorted;  and,  after  expressing,  Kit  had  put  into  this 
barrel  a  half-pound  of  white  mustard  (whole),  five  blood- 
beets  (nicely  sliced  up),  and  three  pounds  of  raw  beef- 
steak. The  mustard  was  to  keep  it  sweet,  the  beets  to 
give  it  color,  the  beef  to  give  it  body.  Happy  con- 
catenation ! 

"  Gentle  cask  of  mellow  "  cider  ! 

Ah  !  if  I  were  only  a  poet,  I  would  celebrate  that  bar- 
rel of  apple-juice  a  la  Horace,  or  I'd  —  cave  the  head  of 
it  in.  Full  many  a  long,  fox-less  tramp  has  it  cheered  up  ; 
full  many  a  happy  evening  has  it  made  happier,  —  always 


FOX-HUNTING.  29 

in  moderation.  Associated,  too,  with  its  rich  color,  rises 
in  memory  a  vision  —  ahem!  Ah!  it's  no  sort  of  use  to 
try  the  poetical :  I  can'fr  fetch  it.  In  plain  prose,  it  was 
plaguy  good  stuff:  came  as  near  old  Jove's  nectar  as 
any  thing  that  has  been  gotten  up  since  his  time. 

Then  those  russets  !  If  there  is  one  apple  in  the 
world  which  stands  superior  in  its  season  to  all  other 
apples,  it  is  the  sponge-russet.  (I  should  remark,  per- 
haps, that  Wash  prefers  the  gillyflower ;  hut  his  opinion 
is  manifestly  ahsurd.)  Some  of  these  mammoth  russets 
were  thirteen  inches  in  girth,  with  the  flavor  and  quality 
in  proportion.  Picture  us  sitting  at  a  safe  distance  be- 
fore that  cyclopean  hearth,  eating  thirteen-inch  russets, 
and  quaffing  beakers  of  sweet  cider,  and  you  have  a 
scene  to  match  Valhalla,  from  which  not  even  the  Val- 
kyrs were  absent,  toned  and  beautified  by  Yankee  girl- 
hood. 

We  sang  too.  There  was  a  parlor-organ.  I  presume 
our  music  would  scarcely  deserve  a  "  review :  "  yet  with 
Wade's  tenor,  the  Freshman's  bass,  and  Miss  Nell's  clear 
soprano,  we  managed  to  please  ourselves ;  and,  as  there 
was  nobody  else  to  hear,  it  can  be  nobody's  else  business. 

These  good  folks  keep  early  hours.  By  half-past  ten 
I  noticed  a  movement  which  indicated  "  bed-time ;  "  and 
we  all  acquiesced,  the  more  readily  that  our  long  ride  in 
the  cold  wind  had  rendered  us  unusually  stupid  and 
sleepy.  Lighting  a  little  kerosene-lamp,  Kit  conducted 
us  up  the  broad  but  uncarpeted  flight  of  stairs  in  the 
"  front  hall."  Our  chambers  were  two  square  rooms  on 
the  second  floor,  connecting  the  one  with  the  other.  A 
bright  fire  in  a  fireplace  of  smaller  dimensions  warmed 


30  FOX-HUNTING. 

and  lighted  the  first  and  southernmost  of  the  two;  and, 
by  leaving  the  door  open,  the  second  was  rendered  com- 
fortable. 

"  We  four  fellows  shall  have  to  lunlc  here,"  explained 
our  young  host.  "  You  can  choose  of  the  two  rooms  to 
your  liking." 

Having  in  mind  certain  hygienic  precepts  to  the  effect 
that  it  is  healthier  to  sleep  in  cool  rooms,  Wash  and 
myself  chose  the  fireless  one.  Wade,  who  shivers  a  good 
deal  in  our  climate,  was  glad  of  the  bed  nearer  the  fire. 
He  and  Kit  occupied  the  fireplace-room  together;  it 
being  a  part  of  Kit's  duty  to  tend  the  fire. 

"But  where  does  the  Freshman  bestow  himself ?" 
Wash  inquired. 

"  Oh  !  he  has  the  spare  room  down  stairs,"  said  Kit. 
"  The  spare  room  is  always  sacred  to  the  schoolmaster, 
who  generally  boards  here.  .  .  .  But  what  do  you  think 
of  him  —  this  Graves  ?  "  he  asked  after  we  had  sat  warm- 
ing our  feet  a  while. 

The  question  was  put  a  little  insidiously.  We  had 
liked  him  pretty  well.  "A  trifle  mawkish,"  Wash  ob- 
served. "  But  he  seems  a  good  fellow  at  bottom." 

Kit  made  no  reply  to  this. 

"How  do  you  like  him  ?  "  I  ventured  after  a  moment's 
silence. 

"  Oh !  /  like  him  well  enough,"  said  Kit,  and  changed 
the  subject. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Hounds,  "Jim,"  "Nance,"  and  "  Ginx,"  with  Some  Account 
of  Each.  —  The  "  Fox-Bait."  —  "  Whoa,  ye  kicking  old  Kep  ! " 
—  A  Four-dollar  Horse. 

~T1T7"E  slept  soundly,  —  rather  too  soundly ;  and  were 

V  V  only  up  in  time  for  breakfast,  and  the  "family 
prayers  "  which  followed  the  meal.  ("Grandfather's" 
prayer  was  fully  as  prolix  as  on  a  former  and  less  deco- 
rous occasion.) 

Mr.  Graves  joined  in  these  devotional  exercises ;  but 
he  grew  sadly  uneasy  ere  the  prayer  concluded.  I  de- 
tected him  in  a  surreptitious  consultation  of  his  watch. 
It  lacked  but  fourteen  minutes  of  nine !  and  he  immedi- 
ately hurried  off  to  school  with  the  girls. 

We  went  out  to  the  stable  to  see  the  hounds  and  the 
"  bait." 

"Here  they  are!"  exclaimed  Kit,  rolling  back  the 
stable-door. 

He  had  them  chained  in  empty  horse-stalls  warmly 
bedded. 

"  This  is  Jim,"  continued  Kit,  making  us  acquainted 
with  a  big,  bony,  savage-looking  beast,  white,  calicoed 
with  light  tan.  "  He's  the  leader,  a  half-breed.  It's  as 

31 


32  FOX-HUNTING. 

much  as  a  man's  life's  worth  to  get  before  him  after  he 
has  run  five  or  six  hours.  A  while  ago  I  had  them  on  a 
fox-track.  They  ran  till  night  around  a  mountain  up 
here.  Then  the  fox,  an  old  '  cross  gray,'  made  a  bee- 
line  for  another  mountain  about  four  miles  farther  on. 
I  found  they  weren't  gaining,  for  it  was  bad  running  ; 
and  so  cut  across  to  take  them  off  the  trail.  Jim  had 
got  pretty  mad.  His  eyes  were  like  coals.  I  knew  I 
should  have  my  hands  full :  so  I  hacked  down  a  lot  of 
little  hemlocks,  and  threw  them  in  on  to  the  track  at  a 
place  where  it  ran  between  a  couple  of  big  rocks.  Then 
I  got  a  large,  brushy  hemlock-limb,  and  stood  ready  on 
the  other  side.  Up  came  Jim.  I  yelled  at  him.  Paid 
no  attention  to  me.  I  thought  he  would  have  to  go 
round  the  hemlock;  but  he  took  it  at  a  leap,  when  he 
found  the  scent  was  under  it.  As  he  came  orer,  I  laid 
on  to  him  with  the  limb.  I  had  to  fairly  knock  him 
down,  and  kick  him  after  he  was  down,  to  stop  him.  He 
would  have  throttled  me  in  a  jiffy  if  I  hadn't  got  him 
down  and  got  the  better  of  him.  He  was  so  excited,  he 
didn't  know  me.  Afterwards  he  acted  as  ashamed  as 
you  please.  The  other  two  were  a  little  behind,  and 
stopped  when  they  found  Jim  had  stopped.  But  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  it  was  a  rather  risky  business.  I  think 
Jim  has  something  of  the  bloodhound  in  him.  I  bought 
him  in  one  of  the  adjoining  towns  to  the  east  of  us. 

"  And  this,"  continued  Kit,  going  to  the  next  stall, 
"  is  old  Nance.  She  runs  next  to  Jim.  Is  a  faster  run- 
ner than  Jim ;  but  he  won't  have  any  thing  ahead  of 
him  of  the  feminine  gender.  When  I  want  some  sharp, 
quick  running,  I  put  her  on  alone.  She  knows  what  I 


FOX-HUNTING.  33 

want  just  as  well  as  I  could  say  it  in  words.  She  will 
skim  like  a  swallow ;  and  she  will  put  a  common  yellow 
fox  into  the  ground  in  from  one  to  three  hours,  or  else 
overhaul  him  handsomely.  Generally  holes  them. 
They'll  take  the  ground  when  they  hear  her  closing  up 
behind.  You  shall  see.  I  don't  care  what  folks  say 
about  fox-hunting :  it's  fun  alive,  I  think." 

I  cannot  describe  old  Nance  more  graphically  than  by 
saying  that  she  resembled  a  large-sized  English  coach- 
dog:  only  the  black  spots  were  rather  larger,  and  less 
regularly  disposed.  She  had,  of  course,  a  hound's  ear, 
with  a  lean,  bony  head,  and  a  prodigious  muzzle. 

"And  this,"  resumed  Kit,  going  round  into  the  third 
stall,  —  "  this  is  Ginx."  (I  think  Kit  must  have  been 
reading  "  Ginx's  Baby.")  "  One  year  old.  Runs  behind 
the  other  two.  Going  to  be  quite  a  hound  one  of  these 
days.  Nothing  but  a  puppy  yet.  Got  a  good  eye  and 
a  good  head :  intelligent  brute." 

Ginx  —  we  could  but  grin  at  the  name  —  was  a 
sleek,  short-haired  creature  ;  black  back,  with  tan  legs, 
red  ears,  and  light  tan  nose. 

"But  what  of  this  one?"  demanded  Wash,  looking 
into  a  fourth  stall,  where  a  faintly-brindled  and  rather 
ill-conditioned  hound  stood  shivering. 

"  Oh  !  he's  of  no  account,"  said  Kit.  "  Not  one  of 
my  pack :  wouldn't  keep  such  a  cur.  You  see,  he  be- 
longed to  an  old  chap  a  few  miles  from  here  :  so  I 
bought  him  up  about  a  fortnight  ago.  Gave  a  fiver  for 
him  too ;  and  he  isn't  worth  a  paper  dime.  But  I  was 
afraid  the  fellow  would  be  out  hunting  with  him,  chas- 
ing and  frightening  off  the  foxes :  so  I  gave  him  hia 


34  FOX-HUNTING. 

price.  There  isn't  now  another  fox-hound  kept  within 
a  dozen  miles  of  here ;  and  there  hasn't  heen  a  hound 
out  this  season  yet.  The  foxes  are  as  bold  as  crows. 
Go  out  almost  any  evening  after  dark,  and  you  can  hear 
them  mousing  round  the  stone-piles  out  in  the  fields ; 
and,  just  as  day  is  breaking,  they  sometimes  get  to  bark- 
ing and  yelping  in  a  perfect  chorus.  There  are  scores 
of  them  about  here.  But  what  to  do  with  this  hound  I 
have  bought,  I  really  don't  know;  unless  I  take  him  for 
fox-bait." 

"  Why,  is  this  the  bait  you've  been  chaffing  us 
about  ?  "  demanded  Wash. 

"  No !  oh,  no ! "  disclaimed  Kit.  "  Come  on  :  I'll  show 
you  the  bait." 

He  went  out  through  a  passage  leading  from  the 
stable  into  the  barn  proper,  and,  partly  opening  the  door 
of  a  dark  pen  adjoining  the  haymow,  peeped  cautiously 
in.  Our  curiosity  was  now  highly  excited. 

"  In  there,  is  it  ?  "  said  I. 

"  In  there,"  said  Kit.     "  Take  a  peep  ?  " 

Impressed  by  his  own  seeming  caution,  I  carefully 
craned  my  neck,  and  was  just  getting  my  face  in  at  the 
dark  crack  of  the  door,  when,  quick  as  a  wink,  there  was 
a  snort,  a  swish  of  something  or  other,  instantly  followed 
by  a  ponderous  crash  against  the  door,  which,  slamming 
to,  knocked  me  most  unceremoniously  into  the  middle  of 
the  barn-floor. 

"  What  the  dickens ! "  exclaimed  Wash ;  while  Wade 
made  a  bolt  of  several  yards. 

Kit   sprang  to  secure  the  door,  shouting,  "Whoa! 


FOX-HUNTING.  85 

you  confounded,  kicking  old  rep  !  Whoa !  or  I'll  have 
ye  shot  and  skinned !  " 

At  the  same  moment,  a  horse's  head  was  thrust  men- 
acingly out  at  a  place  where  a  board  had  fallen  off  the 
partition  of  the  pen,  —  an  ugly,  lean  white  head,  with 
retroverted  ears,  and  horrid  yellow  teeth  all  exposed. 
The  old  brute's  eye  showed  wickedly  white  and 
vicious. 

Kit  seized  a  rake,  and  bestowed  it  upon  the  unsightly 
apparition  with  a  hearty  malediction. 

"  Is  that  your  fox-bait  ?  "  cried  Wade,  coming  back  a 
little. 

We  began  to  laugh. 

"  That's  the  bait,"  said  Kit  with  a  grin. 

"Well,  by  Jude!"  says  Wash,  "if  you  don't  mind 
him,  he  will  be  making  fox-bait  of  you  instead." 

"  You  would  have  thought  so,  I  guess,  if  you  had  seen 
the  tussle  we  had  to  get  him  into  the  pen  when  I  first 
bought  him,  a  week  ago,"  laughed  Kit. 

"  Oh !  then  he  isn't  one  of  your  raising  ? "  Wade 
observed. 

"  Not  at  all ! "  cried  Kit.  "  I  got  him  of  a  notorious 
old  character  who  lives  about  a  mile  from  here.  The 
animal  is  worthless  :  has  the  heaves,  and  about  as  many 
spavins  as  legs.  And  he  seems  to  have  brought  along 
his  old  master's  disposition  with  him.  Kicks  outra- 
geously, and  bites  like  a  dragon.  Years  of  abuse  have 
sunk  him  to  a  veritable  devil.  But  he  will  make  a  pile 
of  fox-bait." 

We  could  but  laugh. 


36  FOX-HUNTING. 

"Seems  to  me  you  are  rather  extravagant,"  said  I, 
"  to  kill  horses  for  fox-bait." 
"  Not  a  bit  of  it !  "  replied  Kit. 
"  How  much  did  he  cost  ?  "  Wash  asked. 
"Four  dollars!" 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Chilly  Weather.  —  The  Frozen  Lake.  —  Skating.  —  "  The  Fire- 
Eater  on  Skates."  —  A  Trip  to  the  "  Store."  —  Eoundwood  Ber- 
ries. —  Robins.  —  We  visit  Mr.  Graves's  School.  —  Some  Pretty 
School-Girls.  —  The  Pearl  of  the  Schoolroom.  —  The  Class  in 
English  Analysis.  —  Introductions.  —  Miss  Kate  Edwards.  — 
The  Pretty  Misses  Wilbur.  —  Wash  as  a  Ladies'  Man. 


forenoon  was  a  pleasant  one  ;  though  the  wind 
JL    blew   chill   enough   from   the    north-west.       The 
ground  was  frozen  hard.     Off  to  the  east  of  the  farm 
lay  the  pond,  under  a  glass-bright  expanse  of  new  ice. 
Our  hearts  bounded  free  at  sight  of  it. 

"  What's  to  hinder  skating  ?  "  Wash  exclaimed. 

"Nothing,"  said  Kit  quietly;  "and  this  evening,  if 
it's  not  too  windy,  we  will  have  the  girls  out.  There's 
a  moon  this  week." 

Both  Wash  and  myself  had  brought  our  skates, 
thinking  they  might  very  likely  come  into  requisition. 
But  Wade  had  never  skated  a  yard  in  his  life  ;  had 
never  learned  how.  South-Carolinians  rarely  get  a 
chance  to  practise  this  grand  old  Northern  sport.  Wade 
looked  doubtful  when  the  skatiug-project  was  proposed. 

37 


38  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Oh  !  we  can  teach  you  in  an  hour  or  two,"  said  Kit 
encouragingly. 

"  Can  you,  though  ?  "  asked  Wade. 

Time  has  been  when  our  Southern  friend  would  have 
scorned  to  learn  a  so  purely  Northern  accomplishment ; 
but,  the  more  he  sees  of  the  North  and  the  world  in 
general,  the  less  prominent  grow  his  local  prejudices. 
He  is  gradually  —  thanks  to  our  yachting  scheme  — 
becoming  that  most  desirable  of  comrades,  —  a  true  man 
of  the  world.  Travel,  and  travel  only,  can  do  it.  Trav- 
el gives  one  breadth  of  thought,  and  charity  for  his 
fellow-man.  Your  true  man  of  the  world  is  always 
charitable ;  capable  of  seeing  the  good,  and  choosing  it 
anywhere  .and  everywhere. 

Our  yacht-cruises  confirm  me  in  this  belief.  No 
method  of  education  can  possibly  be  so  beneficial  as 
that  which  takes  a  young  man  (or  a  young  lady)  under- 
standingly  over  the  world. 

Thousands  of  our  American  youth  are  wealthy 
enough  to  do  as  we  are  doing ;  yet  they  settle  down  to 
three  years  of  high-school  and  four  years  of  college  life  in 
some  dull  little  town,  and  at  last  graduate  as  green  as 
grass  of  real  life,  of  men,  and  of  the  great  world  around 
them,  their  heads  stuffed  with  a  mass  of  dry  Latin  and 
unintelligible  theorems  of  geometry.  Ah,  what  a  mis- 
take !  Even  at  the  risk  of  being  called  opinionated,  I 
will  write,  DON'T  DO  IT.  You  can  take  the  same  money, 
and  do  far  better.  Two  thousand  dollars,  economically 
expended,  will  now  take  you  over  nearly  the  whole  world. 
And,  even  if  a  fellow  hasn't  a  dime  to  bless  himself  with, 
he  has  no  need  to  plant  himself  like  a  hill  of  potatoes. 


FOX-HUNTING.  39 

Get  right  up  and  get.  Strike  off  somewhere.  Corre- 
spond for  some  newspaper;  take  an  agency  for  some 
new  publication ;  or,  if  nothing  better  offers,  sell  "  corn- 
salve  "  at  twenty-five  cents  per.roll  (but  first  be  sure  it 
is  a  good  article,  and  will  cure  'em).  By  the  time  you 
have  done  this  six  months,  you  will  see  your  way  out  to 
something  better,  —  if  you  are  a  genuine  live  Yankee 
youth,  and  go  abroad  with  your  eyes  open. 

Opportunities  for  making  a  fortune  are  lying  about 
under  our  very  noses,  if  we  can  only  get  our  eyes  open 
enough  to  see  them.  The  sort  of  capital  most  needed 
is  spunk,  force,  grit,  seasoned  by  perseverance. 

We  went  down  to  the  pond-shore  with  our  skates. 
Kit  had  brought  out  a  pair  of  lady's  skates  —  the 
property  of  Miss  Nell  —  for  Wade  to  make  his  maiden 
efforts  on.  .They  were  rather  small  for  him ;  but  we 
finally  got  his  feet  into  them,  and  stood  him  up.  It  took 
some  minutes  to  get  explained  to  him  that  he  must  turn 
his  foot  out  after  each  slide  ahead,  in  order  to  get  a 
second  foothold,  and  not  slide  backwards.  At  length  he 
said  he  had  the  idea.  We  stood  aside;  and  he  struck  off 
gallantly  under  a  prodigious  head  of  muscle.  He  went 
eight  or  ten  rods  like  a  dart ;  then  fell  all  at  once  with 
a  stomach-shaking  wallop.  We  hurried  up.  He  had 
fairly  knocked  his  wind  out,  and  was  gasping  to  catch 
it.  Got  him  on  his  feet  presently ;  and  he  "  came  to 
time"  again.  We  all  gave  him  lots  of  advice.  The 
only  difficulty  was  to  follow  it. 

"Don't  drive  ahead  so,  like  a  mad  bull  in  a  china- 
shop  !  "  admonished  Wash.  "  Slower ;  more  deliberate 
like ;  so  "  (illustrating  it). 


40  FOX-HUNTING. 

Wade  listened  attentively.  I  knew  he  wanted  to 
make  a  good  appearance  the  coming  evening,  and  was 
giving  his  wits  to  it  sharp.  He  made  a  second  essay,  — 
a  slow  one,  —  and  tumbled  immediately ;  then  he  sat 
still  a  long  while  (taking  counsel  of  himself,  I  presume)^ 
while  we  three  took  a  turn  across  the  pond. 

By  and  by,  looking  round,  I  saw  him  afoot  again,  and 
going  like  a  streak  up  the  pond  near  the  shore. 

"He'll  break  his  neck  !"  exclaimed  Wash.  "Never 
saw  a  fellow  plunge  ahead  so ! " 

But  he  didn't  lose  his  legs,  and  went  on  for  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  in  a  marvellously  short  time  :  then,  attempt- 
ing to  turn  on  a  much  too  sharp  curve,  he  went  down 
again,  —  slap  !  I  feared  that  he  had  killed  himself  out- 
right. Kit  shouted  lustily.  At  that  he  sat  up,  and 
waved  his  hand,  but  continued  sitting  there  for  as  much 
as  fifteen  minutes.  A  while  after,  we  espied  him  on 
his  feet  again,  tearing  down  toward  us  like  a  July  tor- 
nado. We  instinctively  got  out  of  the  way ;  and  he  went 
past  at  a  regular  2.40  pace,  his  arms  stuck  out,  and 
brandished.  Kit  lay  down  on  the  ice,  and  roared  with 
laughter.  I  never  saw  a  person  skate  with  such  down- 
right, unreasonable  violence  before.  On  he  went,  look- 
ing neither  to  right  nor  left,  for  nearly  a  thousand  meters, 
and,  mindful  of  his  previous  mistake,  took  nearly  the 
whole  width  of  the  pond  to  turn  on,  and  came  back 
flying. 

By  this  time  he  was  reeking  with  perspiration,  and 
ready  to  drop  with  fatigue.  He  got  to  the  shore,  and 
dropped  panting.  But  he  triumphantly  exclaimed  that- 
he  had  got  it  now  !  And,  so  far  as  I  have  remarked,  he 


FOX-HUNTING.  41 

has  never  had  any  difficulty  in  skating  since.  I  never 
saw  a  Northern  hoy  learn  the  art  in  just  that  way,  nor 
yet  in  so  brief  a  time. -  "VVe  have  had  many  a  laugh  — 
inter  nos  —  over  "the  fire-eater  on  skates." 

After  dinner,  we  harnessed  one  of  the  horses,  —  not  the 
fox-bait, — and  went  off  to  the  "store,"  distant  a  mile 
and  a  half,  to  purchase  Wade  a  pair  of  skates.  The 
ruts  and  holes  in  the  road,  frozen  hard,  made  the  double 
wagon  dance  in  a  most  side-shaking  way  as  we  bowled 
along  at  a  smart  pace  down  the  descending  ground.  The 
afternoon  was  pleasant ;  but  a  dim,  misty  bank  lay  along 
the  south-western  sky,  —  a  "  snow-bank,"  in  rural  phrase ; 
and,  as  snow  was  quite  essential  to  our  plans  for  fox- 
hunting, we  observed  it  with  interest. 

A  part  of  the  way  was  through  a  woody  tract,  whore 
there  were  hundreds  of  mountain-ash,  or  "  round-woods," 
fairly  laden  with  their  bright  scarlet  berries  in  countless 
clusters ;  and  the  whole  place  teemed  with  thousands  of 
robins  feasting  on  the  fruit.  Kit  informs  me  that  these 
birds  gather  here  late  in  the  fall  every  year,  and  never 
leave  the  locality  so  long  as  a  single  cluster  of  berries 
remains.  Wash  suggested  robin-pies.  But  Kit  said, 
that  to  come  shooting  here  would  call  down  on  us  the 
wrath  of  the  whole  community.  The  robin  is  a  sacred 
bird. 

The  skates  for  sale  at  the  "store"  were  of  a  rather 
rough  pattern,  but  strong.  Wade  purchased  two  pairs. 
Kit  also  negotiated  for  two  or  three  brown-paper  pack- 
ages, the  exact  purport  of  which  I  did  not  at  the  time 
understand. 

As  we  came  back,  we  passed  the  schoolhouse,  —  a  mod- 


42  FOX-HUNTING. 

est  story-and-a-half  structure.  Through  the  window 
I  caught  sight  of  Mr.  Graves  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties. 

"  Let's  make  him  a  call !  "  Wash  proposed.  "  It's 
three  o'clock.  We  can  stop  till  school  is  out,  and  so 
bring  the  girls  home." 

"  Well  —  yes  ;  so  we  can,"  assented  Kit. 

But  he  had  hesitated  just  for  an  instant.  I  should 
not  have  urged  it,  seeing  this;  but  Wade  struck  in  his 
plea  for  it :  and,  without  further  ado^  we  rattled  round  to 
the  door,  and,  hitching  up  the  horse,  smoothed  down  our 
faces,  and  knocked.  Forthwith  appeared  Mr.  Graves, 
book  in  hand. 

"  We  were  passing,  and  thought  we  would  just  drop 
in  a  minute,"  explained  Kit. 

Mr.  Graves  was,  of  course,  delighted  to  have  our  com- 
pany. School-teachers  are  doubtless  passionately  fond 
of  callers. 

We  were  without  delay  ushered  in,  and  seated  in  the 
"  desk,"  —  save  Kit,  who,  as  an  old  scholar  here,  beat 
naturally  up  into  the  back  seat,  where  were  ranged  a 
stalwart  row  of  boys,  who  eyed  us  with  no  great  favor, 
I  thought ;  and,  contrasting  the  rather  dashing  "  get-up  " 
of  my  two  comrades  with  their  rustic  mien  and  dress,  I 
did  not  much  wonder  at  it.  It  isn't  in  human  (male) 
nature  to  greatly  admire  a  superior,  —  superior  in  dress 
and  "style,"  I  mean.  The  young  metropolitan'always  has 
this  advantage  over  the  country  youth.  But  our  com- 
panionship with  Kit  has  taught  us  not  to  rely  far  on 
such  advantages  ;  since  there  rise  yearly  a  class  of  young 
men  in  the  country  who  come  to  the  city,  and  beat  us  on 
our  own  ground. 


FOX-HUNTING.  43 

Kit  had  taken  a  seat  beside  a  young  fellow  of  about 
his  own  age  seemingly,  —  an  old  schoolmate,  doubtless; 
for  Kit  was  playfully  turning  over  his  algebra,  and 
holding  it  up  to  see  how  far  he  had  got  in  it  by  the 
soiling  of  the  pages,  —  a  very  accurate  test.  I  could 
but  compare  them,  and  wonder  what  magical  power 
drives  one  boy  on  in  life  ahead  of  his  fellows. 

Modesty,  of  course,  had  withheld  my  eyes  from  wan- 
dering immediately  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  room 
(it  was  a  large  room,  and  contained  some  fifty-five  or 
sixty  scholars).  But  modesty,  I  regret  to  say,  had  no 
such  sway  over  Wash ;  for,  on  turning  to  whisper  to 
him  some  trifle,  I  found  his  attention  obstinately  fixed 
on  some  object  on  the  feminine  side.  Mustering  my 
courage,  I  ventured  to  steal  a  furtive  glance.  There 
was  a  goodly  array  of  girlhood  and  young  womanhood, 
the  most  of  which  was  slyly  regarding  us  out  of  the  cor- 
ners of  its  eyes.  But  I  did  not,  at  first,  see  any  thing 
that  would  seem  likely  to  have  enchained  the  optics  of 
so  practised  a  connoisseur  as  our  respected  fellow-yachter, 
Mr.  Burleigh.  I  had  to  come  back,  and  take  the  direc- 
tion from  his  eyes  again.  Mr.  Graves  was  hearing  a 
grammar-lesson.  Wash's  eyes  seemed  to  pass  close  to 
the  master's  head,  and  continue  on  toward  the  farther 
corner  of  the  room.  Ah,  yes  !  I  saw  now :  a  young  lady, 
half  hidden  by  heads,  with  her  face  partially  shaded  by 
her  hand  and  wrist  (for  one  arm  rested  easily,  as  if 
from  habit,  on  the  desk  before  her),  —  a  white,  dusk  face ; 
dark-brown  hair  prettily  arranged.  By  Jove !  there 
was  a  pearl,  composedly  studying  her  lessons,  not  once 
remarking  Wash's  admiring  glance.  Wade  had  espied 


44  FOX-HUNTING. 

her  too.  A  moment  later  she  changed  her  book,  and  in- 
cidentally looked  up,  —  a  dark-hazel  glance  from  a  large, 
calm  eye.  Our  six  guilty  eyes  scattered  instanter  in 
all  directions.  Momentarily  I  caught  a  keen,  incisive 
look  from  Kit,  which  was  gone  as  quickly ;  and  I  remem- 
bered afterwards  that  I  did  not  quite  understand  nor 
like  it. 

If  affairs  are  as  I  afterwards  had  reason  to  suspect,  I 
think  Kit  did  very  wrong  in  not  giving  us  some  hint 
thereto :  it  would  have  saved  one  or  two  heart-aches,  I 
am  pretty  sure.  Of  course,  it  is  always  very  easy  tell- 
ing what  a  fellow  ought  to  do:  still  I  shall  let  the 
above  remark  stand,  though  it  forestalls  the  story 
proper.  All  I  will  now  say  is,  that  a  source  of  discord 
—  a  very  old  one,  I  believe,  worse  than  all  our  politi- 
cal disagreements  —  disclosed  itself  that  winter,  which 
came  near  setting  us  at  swords'-points  metaphorically, 
and  which  might  well  have  dissolved  our  companion- 
ship in  good  earnest.  A  word  in  the  first  place,  even 
a  hint  ever  so  obscure,  would  have  prevented  it  all. 
Hence  I  hold  Kit  blamable,  and  am  willing  to  let  the 
reader  judge. 

Ere  we  had  well  regained  our  ocular  equanimity,  Mr. 
Graves  called  "  the  class  in  English  analysis."  The 
young  fellow  with  whom  Kit  was  sitting  came  down  to 
the  recitation-seats,  Kit  accompanying  him  ;  also  two  of 
the  larger  girls  from  the  back  seat,  with  some  flutter; 
and  then,  very  quietly  but  leisurely,  the  dark-eyed  miss 
out  of  the  corner  seat.  It  seemed  as  if  the  whole  school 
were  a  foil  to  set  off — not  her  dress  ;  for,  if  I  noticed,  she 
was  not  richly  clad  —  that  certain  nameless  grace  which 


FOX-HUNTING.  45 

dowers  the  lady  born.  She  did  not  ignore  our  presence 
as  company :  she  did  not  give  it  prominence. 

Mr.  Graves  was  about  to  give  us  his  own  text-book  to 
look  over  from ;  when  she,  like  a  dutiful  pupil,  handed 
him  her  own  for  that  purpose,  which  he  passed  to  us. 
This  surrender  was  like  to  have  embarrassed  the  fair 
benefactor:  She  had  presumably  thought  to  look  over 
with  one  of  the  other  young  ladies  ;  but,  on  turning  to 
them,  it  appeared  that  they  had  but  one  book  between 
them  that  day.  There  was  a  momentary  hesitation. 
Wade  rose  to  restore  the  book  with  an  elaborate  bow ; 
but  our  lady  disclaimed  it  with  a  little  wave  of  her 
hand  and  a  reserved  smile,  and,  passing  along,  seated 
herself  demurely  beside  the  young  fellow,  who  gra- 
ciously, and  very  much  as  a  matter  of  course,  I  thought, 
gave  her  half  his  book.  (He  was  her  brother,  though.) 
Imagine  a  young  girl,  very  beautiful  certainly,  rather 
tall,  and  finely  formed,  doing  all  this  with  an  air  of  per- 
fect ease,  and,  withal,  modesty. 

Well,  we  could  but  repress  our  admiration.  Some- 
thing quite  new  and  unexpected  seemed  to  be  resulting 
from  our  fox-hunting  tour.  I  knew  Wash  and  Wade 
well  enough  to  predict  a  thing  or  two.  Indeed,  I  was 
satisfied,  from  the  general  appearance  of  Wash,  that  he 
was  —  after  his  fashion  —  more  than  half  in  love  already. 

Then  I  wondered  what  Mr.  Graves  thought  of  his 
pupil,  and  laid  him  under  surveillance ;  but  he  was  on 
his  dignity,  and  conducted  the  recitation  with  all  the 
methodus  of  a  full-blown  professor.  Then  I  thought  of 
Kit,  and  was  sincerely  puzzled.  I  looked  at  him  atten- 
tively. There  he  sat,  to  all  appearance,  interested  in 


46  FOX-HUNTING. 

nothing  but  the  lesson ;  and  a  very  dry  one  it  was.  I 
compared  them,  as  they  sat  there  with  only  the  other 
young  fellow  between  them,  —  she  with  her  wealth  of 
dark  beauty ;  he  with  his  strong  face,  and  smart,  asser- 
tive look.  I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  that  I  watched  them 
narrowly;  and  I  know  Wash  and  Wade  did:  but  we 
neither  of  us  discerned  the  slightest  indication  or  sign 
of  any  thing  in  common  between  them.  Furthermore,  I 
bethought  myself,  that,  for  the  past  three  years,  I  had 
never  known  of  Kit's  having  a  lady-love.  He  had  never, 
while  absent  from  Maine,  written  to  nor  received  letters 
from  a  lady.  In  short,  I  had  never  heard  of  his  doing 
any  thing  in  the  "sparking  line;"  and  he  had  always 
argued  that  no  young  man  should  dream  of  marriage  till 
well  established  in  business.  I  concluded  that  he  and 
she  were  schoolmates,  perhaps  ;  nothing  more.  I  think 
Wade  and  Wash  had  the  same  idea.  I  do  not  know  how 
this  conclusion  'affected  them ;  but,  for  my  own  part,  I 
felt  much  relieved  by  it,  —  on  their  account,  of  course. 
There  would  be  no  teterrima  causa  belli  (as  the  Fresh- 
man would  say)  between  them.  I  was  more  occupied 
with  these  reflections  than  with  the  English-analysis 
lesson. 

"  The  e-xercise  finished,  Mr.  Graves  had  given  some 
masterly  opinions  relative  to  the  formation  of  our  mother- 
tongue,  and  generally  exerted  himself  to  give  the  class 
reason  to  be  proud  of  their  teacher.  But  I  still  dis- 
trusted him ;  and,  when  he  handed  our  young  lady 
her  book,  I  detected  his  glance,  —  not  exactly  a  tender 
glance,  but  one  of  interrogation.  It  convinced  me  that 
he  had  put  forth  his  powers  before  us  to  win  her  adniira- 


FOX-HUNTING.  47 

tion;  and  now  he  very  naturally  glanced  to  inquire 
whether  or  not  he  had  succeeded.  He  had  fine  talents, 
and  a  handsome  couutenance;  in  a  word,  all  the  ele- 
ments of  an  able  man  in  embryo.  I  saw  no  reason  why 
she  would  not  like  him ;  though  Charles  E-eade  argues 
that  dark  eyes  are  not  likely  to  love  the  dark-eyed.  But 
that  is  rank  nonsense,  so  far  as  my  observation  goes. 

Question.  —  Could  Wash  oust  the  Freshman  ?  Could 
Wade?  I  rather  hoped  he  would,  if  he  could  by  fair 
play;  for  schoolmasters  have  no  sort  of  business  to  fall 
in  love  with  their  lady-pupils.  It  always  demoralizes 
the  school,  and  makes  a  "mess  "  of  things  generally. 
It  was  not  very  wonderful,  however,  that  he  had  done 
so,  or  was  in  a  fair  way  to.  If  I  were  a  schoolmaster,  I 
should  not  want  this  beautiful  girl  for  a  pupil.  I  think 
I  would  forthwith  resign,  and  enter  some  other  calling 
less  amenable  to  public  censure. 

But  suppose  one  or  the  other  of  my  comrades  should 
succeed  in  dislodging  the  Freshman.  Suppose  Wade 
should.  How  about  Wash  ?  Would  he  submit  with  a 
good  grace  ?  Would  he  quietly  stand  aside  ?  Our 
friendship  was  a  firm  one.  I  did  not  believe  any  mem- 
ber of  our  party  would  be  so  foolish  as  to  let  any  tiling 
of  this  sort  divide  us.  But  beauty  has  often  set  bosom- 
friends  and  comrades  at  daggers'-points.  Having  the 
good  of  our  party  and  our  future  plans  at  heart,  I  felt 
a  little  uneasy,  and  secretly  resolved  to  watch  sharp,  and 
be  ready  to  pour  on  the  oil  of  disinterested  mediation. 
It  would  be  a  shame  to  have  labored  and  planned  such 
great  things  only  to  have  our  party  broken  up  by — even 
a  beautiful  girl.  Nothing  else  would  part  us,  I  felt 
sure. 


48  FOX-HUNTING. 

A  class  or  two  in  spelling ;  then  school  was  dismissed. 
Kit  came  down  to  the  desk,  and  with  him  the  young 
fellow  with  whom  he  had  been  sitting,  and  whom  he  at 
once  introduced,  —  "  Mr.  Tom  Edwards,"  a  well-made, 
frank-faced  youth,  rather  above  middle  size,  and,  as  we 
afterwards  found,  intelligent.  I  remarked  his  strong 
chin  and  rather  heavy  black  eyebrows. 

Two  very  pretty  girls  who  had  just  donned  their 
cloaks  were  standing  for  a  moment  by  the  stove,  —  Miss 
Georgie  and  Miss  Elsie  Wilbur.  Mr.  Graves  introduced 
us.  We  chatted  a  moment.  But  I  suppose  Kit  must 
have  seen  Wash's  eyes  wandering  toward  that  corner 
seat  where  the  pearl  was  leisurely  muffling  herself  to 
face  the  chill  wind  out  of  doors.  He  slipped  out  of  our 
circle  of  conversation,  and  made  his  way  up  the  aisle. 
The  pearl  was  just  tying  a  white-and-buff  beaded  liood 
under  her  chin.  There  was  a  moment's  ordinary  con- 
versation between  them  :  then  she  followed  him  down 
the  aisle ;  and  I  was  introduced,  —  "  Miss  Kate  Edwards." 

I  had  felt  sure  she  was  a  lady  at  first  sight :  now  I 
knew  it.  The  worst  of  it  was,  I  had  to  immediately  give 
place  to  Wade,  who  was  waiting  his  turn  to  exhibit  his 
black  eyes  and  debonair.  Wash,  with  his  usual  accursed 
craft,  had  got  behind  us,  in  order  to  come  last,  and  so 
have  the  field  clear,  with  nobody  behind  to  push  him 
aside.  And,  once  introduced,  he  struck  in  an  his  usual 
happy-go-lucky  style,  and  managed  to  get  off  a  droll  Ion- 
mot,  which  set  everybody  laughing  at  the  outset.  Miss 
Edwards  smiled  bewitchingly  either  with  him  or  at  him. 
That  spurred  the  young  reprobate.  His  tongue  began 
to  wag  out  a  stream  of  comical  nonsense,  which  set  even 


FOX-HUNTING.  49 

Mr.  Graves  smiling.  The  rest  of  us  couldn't  get  in  a 
word  edgewise  :  Wade,  indeed,  was  the  only  one  who 
tried  to.  Kit  looked  quietly  on  with  a  queer,  amused 
smile. 

I  turned  to  the  Misses  Wilbur.  They  were  pretty, 
hlue-eyed  girls.  Surely  it  was  not  their  fault  that  Miss 
Edwards  had  cast  them  in  eclipse.  And,  come  to  look 
at  them,  Miss  Elsie  was  really  beautiful,  though  rather 
delicate,  looking  as  if  (like  so  many  of  our  girls)  the 
New-England  winter  might  be  too  severe  for  so  frail  a 
flower.  She  was  modestly  embarrassed  in  conversation 
with  a  stranger  at  first.  It  took  but  a  few  judicious  words 
to  give  her  a  start,  however,  especially  after  Miss  Nell 
and  Miss  Wealthy  joined  us.  We  had  a  pleasant,  cosey 
chat,  somewhat  buffeted  by  the  bursts  of  laughter  from 
the  larger  group,  of  which  Wash  was  "jaw-master"  (to 
use  a  yachting  term).  I  was  not  surprised  to  see  that 
lie  had,  to  a  great  extent,  monopolized  Miss  Edwards's 
attention.  I  had  expected  as  much.  Question. — Would 
he  be  able  to  do  so  after  the  first  week  ?  Mr.  Graves 
appeared  guardedly  uneasy;  and,  either  at  that  or  some- 
thing else,  Kit  seemed  altogether  amused. 

As  Miss  Nell  and  Miss  Wealthy  were  to  ride,  Wash 
and  Wade  magnanimously  offered  to  walk  up.  Just  how 
magnanimous  an  offer  this  was  appears  in  the  fact  that 
Miss  Edwards's  way  home  lay  over  a  part  of  the  same 
route. 

Looking  back  as  we  drove  away,  we  could  see  them 
coming,  — Wash  in  close  company  with  the  lady,  Wade 
at  his  side,  and  Mr.  Graves  a  little  behind  with  Tom  and 
Miss  Kate's  younger  sister  Rhoda.  Miss  Nell  looked 

4 


50  FOX-HUNTING. 

back  at  them ;  then  glanced  to  Kit,  and  then  to  me  cu- 
riously. Kit  laughed  heartily,  and  said  Wash  was  evi- 
dently suffering  from  one  of  his  constitutional  relapses ; 
then  went  on  to  say  that  he  had  invited  all  hands  to  a 
skating-party  that  evening.  That  changed  the  subject. 
It  was  dusk  when  Wash  and  Wade  came  in ;  for  in- 
deed it  had  been  past  sunset  before  we  left  the  school- 
house.  Wash  was  in  high  spirits.  Wade  was  humming 
"  Dixie  "  abstractedly. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Ball  on  the  Ice.  —  The  Beacon-Fires.  —  The  Supper-Table.  — 
Some  Stunning  Toilets.  —  Wash  Refulgent.  —  Wade  "  Reful- 
genter."  —  Miss  "  Jule."  —  Some  Rapid  Skating.  —  A  Grand 
Rink.  —  A  Promenade  with  Miss  Kate.  —  The  "  Poetry  of  Mo- 
tion." —  The  Hemlock-Top.  —  A  Partridge.  —  A  Fox.  —  What 
a  Pretty  Girl  thought  of  Wash.  —  A  Race.  —  Wash  grows  Au- 
dacious. —  A  Chat  with  Miss  Nell.  —  Going  Home  with  Jule.  — 
The  "  Ten-year-old."  —  Rather  a  Joke. 

OJ  UPPER  was  waiting.  We  hurried  it  somewhat,  to 
k3  prepare  for  the  ice-party. 

As  soon  as  it  was  finished,  Wash  and  Wade  betook 
themselves  up  stairs  to  "  fix  "  for  the  evening. 

"  Look  out  for  some  stunning  toilets  ! "  Kit  whispered 
to  me.  "  But,  Raed,  I  must  rely  on  you  to  help  me  a 
little  on  the  arrangements.  Two  such  old  bachelors  as 
you  and  I  are  not  to  be  making  fools  of  ourselves,  you 
know." 

The  responsibilities  of  oversight  clearly  devolved  on 
us.  Assisted  by  the  hired  man,  we  carried  down  to 
the  shore  of  the  lake  a  couple  of  pine-boards  about  a 
foot  in  width,  and  twelve  feet  long ;  also  a  couple  of 
benches.  These  were  to  serve  as  a  table  for  the  col- 
lation. 

61 


52  FOX-HUNTING. 

The  pi iice  chosen  for  our  festive  headquarters  was  a 
point  directly  under  a  high  knoll  crowned  with  dark  firs, 
about  a  hundred  rods  up  the  shore  of  the  pond  from  the 
boat-landing.  There  was  a  moon ;  but  the  snow-bank 
had  risen  steadily,  and  well-nigh  darkened  it.  The  sky 
had  a  dull-gray  tint.  It  was  not  dark  exactly,  but 
wonderfully  dim  and  indistinct,  — one  of  those  evenings 
when  it  is  impossible  to  trust  the  eye  in  proportion  to 
the  seeming  light. 

The  table  was  set  on  the  ice,  a  few  yards  from  the 
shore.  On  the  knoll,  ten  or  fifteen  feet  above  the  table, 
were  two  or  three  great  pitch-pine  stumps.  One  of 
these  Kit  had  the  man  set  on  fire.  It  burned  with  a 
steady,  ruddy  glare,  lighting  up  the  whole  place  like 
some  huge  lamp. 

Half  a  mile  farther  up  the  lake,  and  off  a  hundred  rods 
from  the  shore,  was  a  little  islet,  or  rather  a  large  rock, 
with  a  few  bushes  on  it,  rising  abruptly  from  the  water. 
On  this  Kit  had  a  second  fire  kindled ;  and  a  third 
against  a  stump  on  the  opposite  shore,  which  blazed  up 
very  brightly. 

The  general  position  was  thus  outlined  by  the  fires. 
Moreover,  an  abundance  of  "  touch- wood  "  splinters,  four 
and  five  feet  long,  were  provided  to  be  used  as  torches  by 
those  who  wished  them.  The  refreshments  consisted  of 
a  two-gallon  stone  jug  of  the  redoubtable  sweet  cider, 
with  a  half-score  of  glasses,  which  were  arranged  along 
one  end  of  the  table.  Then  there  were  two  willow-baskets 
containing  "  box-raisins,"  together  with  crackers  and 
"  seed-cakes  "  by  the  platterful,  —  quite  a  spread. 

These  preliminaries  were  scarcely  completed  ere  the 


FOX-HUNTING.  53 

sounds  of  gayety  came  borne  from  the  highway  at  a 
distance  ;  and  soon  a  merry  party  issued  from  the  dark- 
ness, and  approached  the  fire-lit  table. 

"  My  eye  !  "  whispered  Kit  behind  his  hand.  "  Only 
look  at  the  two  swells !  Poor  Graves  is  nowhere  ! " 

Wash  was  refulgent  in  his  heavy  beaver  overcoat 
trimmed  with  black  Astrachan,  heavy  fur  gauntlets, 
black  pants,  a  tall,  peaked  Astrachan  cap,  and  a  gor- 
geous crimson  neck-scarf,  amid  the  shining  folds  of 
which  sparkled  a  (not  very  large)  diamond. 

But  Wade  was  refulgenter;  in  fact,  absolutely  stun- 
ning, —  a  pure  white  lambskin  cap  fully  as  tall  as 
Wash's ;  a  very  light-colored  wolfskin-overcoat,  the  breast 
of  which  disclosed  a  pink  muffler  crossed  within,  and 
only  showing  a  glimpse  of  his  collar  and  the  single  gold 
button  which  fastened  it;  light  pants  to  correspond  with 
coat;  and  heavy  buff  gloves.  This  costutne  set  off  his 
black  eyes,  and  clear,  dark  complexion,  to  the  utmost.  I 
thought  of  the  black  and  white  knights. 

Wade  was  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  his  colors  too ; 
for  Miss  Kate  wore  a  sack  of  white  fur  (or  was  it  a 
cloak  ?  I  am  ashore  on  the  great  female  wardrobe),  with 
a  white  tippet,  and  a  white  plume  in  her  skating-hat. 
But  the  other  girls  all  wore  black  Astrachan  sacks.  It 
was  the  great  Astrachan  season  of  1870. 

Ah  !  'twas  a  jolly,  goodly  sight  to  see,  — the  sparkling 
eyes,  the  red  cheeks,  crowding  in  full  of  life,  health,  and 
jollity.  Miss  Georgie  and  Miss  Elsie  Wilbur  had  come; 
also  a  Miss  Julia  Sylvester,  whom  I  had  seen  at  the 
schoolhouse,  but  had  not  yet  received  an  introduction  to, 
—  a  fair-faced  girl,  but  rather  athletic  and  easy-going. 


54  FOX-HUNTING. 

Kit  lost  no  time  in  making  me  known  to  "  Jule,"  who, 
he  assured  me  (before  her),  was  the  best  skater  on  the 
ice. 

But  they  were  all  skaters,  thanks  to  the  yearly  prac- 
tice the  lake  had  given  them. 

Tom  Edwards  was  there,  also  a  ten-year-old  brother 
of  Miss  Sylvester.  There  were  several  independent 
skaters,  too,  not  exactly  included  with  our  own  party. 

Wash,  with  a  burst  of  volubility,  carried  all  before 
him,  and  paired  off  with  Miss  Edwards.  I  fancied 
Wade's  slight  acquaintance  with  the  art  of  skating  made 
him  a  trifle  diffident  at  first.  Skates  were  bound  on ; 
silence  during  the  process  of  buckling  settling  for  a  few 
moments,  only  to  be  succeeded  by  a  fresh  burst  of  mirth 
when  the  straps  were  achieved.  Wash  had  gallantly  set 
us  the  example  of  adjusting  his  partner's  skates. 

Then  up  and  off,  all  hands  two  and  two  ;  the  ten-year- 
old  flitting  ahead  with  a  blazing  splint  like  a  furious 
Jack-o'-lantern. 

In  this  novel  promenade  the  couples  held  hands, 
leaning  lightly  apart.  Kit  had  the  pretty  Elsie.  Mr. 
Graves  attached  himself  to  her  sister  Georgie.  Young 
Edwards  held  the  hand  of  Miss  Wealthy.  Wade  con- 
fided his  gorgeous  inexperience  to  the  hand  of  Miss  Nell. 
For  my  own  part,  I  found  Jule  all  Kit  had  recom- 
mended,—  ou  ice;  and  had  no  small  ado  to  keep  her  in 
hand  at  all,  as  we  dashed  on  at  a  ringing  swing,  soon 
distancing  the  others.  The  girl  skated  astonishingly 
fast.  Indeed,  I  have  never  seen  better  skaters  than 
these  school-girls ;  and  that  night  there  was  no  fatiguing 
wind  to  tug  and  drag  at  their  skirts. 


FOX-HUNTING.  55 

Our  first  burst  was  up  around  the  fire  on  the  islet 
rock,  and  back  (one  mile). 

Think  of  this,  ye  cramped-up  doublers  on  the  rinks  ! 
Fancy  a  dark-gleaming,  forest-bordered  rink  of  ten 
square  miles,  —  room  to  put  out  all  one's  strength,  and 
never  a  turn !  Consider  our  ice-party  a  ball,  and  this 
our  well- waxed  floor,  along  which  the  red  gleam  of  the 
fires  shines  in  a  long,  ever-shifting  streak.  Beneath  us 
are  forty  feet  of  still,  cold,  black  water.  The  impression 
is  one  of  vast  space  aud  ample  bounds.  A  spell  enchants 
it  all,  and  illusion  flits  about  it.  The  wild  light  of  the 
fire  on  that  hoary,  wave-washed  rock  transforms  us  each 
from  each  as  we  cut  swiftly  around"  it,  and,  circling  off, 
dart  away  with  the  other  fires  gleaming  far  adown  the 
ink-black  pavement.  Merry  laughter  sounds  faint  and 
low  from  far  off  in  the  dark.  The  sharp,  continuous  cut 
of  the  steel  runners  dies  out  as  swiftly-receding  feet 
fly  past  and  on.  Ah  !  this  is  a  ball  worth  attending : 
no  heats,  no  sweat  aud  reek.  The  pure,  keen  ^,ir  bap- 
tizes the  dancer.  The  lake  sleeps  underneath.  Far 
around,  the  forest  glooms  and  lowers  in  darkness ;  and  we 
vainly  speculate  as  to  the  savage  eyes  that  watch  us  from 
out  its  depths. 

Owing  to  difference  of  relative  speed,  our  party  was 
soon  dispersed  over  the  dim  expanse  in  couples,  of 
which  Jule  and  myself  were  the  first  to  arrive  at 
the  table.  But  a  merry  peal  of  laughter  close  behind 
foibade  us  to  greatly  boast.  Wash  and  Miss  Kate  were 
but  a  few  seconds  iu  our  wake.  They  came  flying  out 
of  the  dimness,  and  gliding  into  the  circle  of  light.  Was 
it  a  nymph  from  the  lake's  depths  ?  Surely  I  might  be 


56  FOX-HUNTING. 

pardoned  the  thought;  for  I  saw  the  most  beautiful 
object  in  creation,  —  a  peerless  American  girl,  glorified 
by  a  grand  effort  of  physical  exercise  in  a  keen,  bracing 
air.  Why  shouldn't  Wash  look  perfectly  happy  ?  He 
did.  He  would  not  have  been  human,  nor  yet  the  man 
I  take  him  for,  if  he  hadn't. 

And  even  Miss  Julia,  with  her  masses  of  yellow  hair 
and  rather  athletic  figure,  might  easily  have  been  mis- 
taken for  a  goddess,  so  exhilarating  had  been  the  effort. 

A  sip  of  cider,  that  sweet  cider,  if  you  please.  Cer- 
tainly. But  to  decant  cider  from  a  two-gallon  jug  on 
skates  is  something  of  a  feat :  done,  however,  by  a  sharp 
brace  at  the  muscles. 

And  by  this  time  the  others  come  in ;  Kit  the  very 
last  of  all.  It  gave  me  a  still  higher  opinion  of  him  to 
perceive  that  he  had  not  allowed  the  delicate  Elsie  to 
over-exert  herself.  Would  any  but  a  lover  have  been  so 
thoughtful?  Why  not  anybody  of  sense?  Still  it  was 
suggestive ;  and,  in  the  uncertainty  in  which  Kit  had 
contrived  to  leave  us  all,  I  caught  at  it  for  a  while. 

Miss  Nell  seemed  vastly  amused  about  something  or 
other;  and  Wade  looked  a  little  discomposed.  Possibly 
he  had  tumbled  down.  It  would  not  have  been  surpris- 
ing, —  his  first  day  on  the  ice. 

We  sipped  cider,  got  breath,  and  ate  a  handful  of  rai- 
sins. 

Kit  advised  following  up  the  shore  in  the  shadow 
of  the  forest  this  next  "  heat ; "  each  couple  as  far  as 
they  chose.  Time  not  to  exceed  twenty  minutes  from  the 
table. 

"  And  now  all  ready ! "  he  cried.    "  Change  partners ! " 


FOX-HUNTING.  57 

"Wash  looked  distressed,  and  would  fain  have  resisted ; 
but  all  moved  to  change.  There  was  no  help  for  it.  Miss 
Kate  had  been  standing  next  me ;  and  I  instantly  offered 
to  be  Wash's  successor.  Wade  cast  a  single  hopeless 
glance,  but  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  Miss  Elsie. 
Kit  paired  off  for  a  race  with  Jule. 

Away  again!  I  didn't  look  to  see;  but  I  thought 
Wash  had  Miss  Nell. 

Jule's  skating  had  surprised  me:  equally  did  Miss 
Kate's  charm  me.  I  had  somewhere  read  into  a  vein 
of  nonsense  about  the  "  poetry  of  motion."  It  recurred 
as  I  held  her  hand.  I  felt  it  pervade  and  confirm  my 
own  exertions.  We  came  to  move  in  perfect  time,  as 
sound  waves  chord,  and  the  fierce  solar  thrills  blend  their 
spectrum  in  the  white  light  of  day.  One,  two,  three 
hundred  yards.  A  glow  of  healthful  ecstasy  began  to 
thrill  and  intensify.  It  was  mutual  too ;  for,  quite  in- 
voluntarily, we  both  exclaimed  at  once,  "  How  delight- 
ful ! "  then  laughed  (still  in  chord)  at  our  unity  of 
impulse. 

We  were  skating  swiftly,  and  had  distanced  them  all 
save  Kit  and  Jule,  who  were  on  a  regular  "  breakneck  " 
far  ahead. 

The  dark  old  forest  threw  its  shadows  far  out  over  us ; 
for  we  were  keeping  within  a  few  rods  of  the  shore.  I 
remember  avouching  in  glowing  phrase  that  I  had  never 
before  known  what  happiness  might  come  from  physical 
exercise ;  and  Miss  Kate  declared  to  a  fully  concur- 
ring listener,  that,  of  all  physical  exercise,  skating, 
within  proper  bounds,  was  the  most  congenial  to  young 
people  generally. 


58  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Ah,  this  old  lake  of  ours  !  "  she  exclaimed :  "  I  love 
it  dearly.  So  many  pleasant  hours  here  !  In  summer,  as 
well  as  in  winter,  it  is  always  a  well-spring  of  excursion. 
Such  grand  sails  as  we  have  here  in  the  summer  among 
these  islands,  and  along  the  wooded  shores  in  the  shade 
of  the  great  trees  !  Ah,  Mr.  Raedway !  this  beautiful 
lake  will  be  the  dearest  memory  of  my  life,  if  ever  I' 
should  leave  this  pleasant  home  neighborhood." 

I  wondered  whether  she  loved  it  so  passionately  for 
its  own  sake,  or  from  happy  incidents  connected  with  it ; 
and  hastened  to  say  how  much  it  had  fascinated  me  two 
years  ago  and  over,  when  we  had  passed  up  to  the  head 
of  it  in  a  row-boat  on  our  Katahdin  trip,  Which  Kit 
has  so  graphically  recorded  in  "  Camping  Out." 

"Yes  :  Kit  and  Nell  have  told  me  of  your  being  here 
then.  I  was  at  Westbrook  that  summer.  How  fortu- 
nate you  were  in  finding  that  graphite  mine  !  " 

"  But  we  had  a  rough  experience,"  I  could  not  help 
remarking. 

"  It  reads  pleasantly,"  said  Miss  Kate,  laughing. 

"  Kit  put  the  smooth  side  but  in  the  story :  that's 
his  way,"  I  added.  "  He  never  dwells  on  disagreea- 
bles." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  she  asked  reflectively.  "  But 
how  singular  that  you  four  should  join  together,  and 
adopt  such  a  curious  mode  of  educating  yourselves  !  I 
never  heard  any  thing  like  it.  It  is  intensely  original." 

"  But  what  do  you  really  think  of  it,  anyway,  Miss 
Edwards  ?  "  I  questioned. 

"It  would  take  a  deal  of  worldly  wisdom  to  give  such 
an  opinion  as  you  seek,"  she  replied  lightly :  "  I  would 


FOX-HUNTING.  59 

not  dare.  But  I  like  the  thought  of  it.  It  is  romantic. 
Did  it  never  occur  to  you  that  your  scheme  was  very 
romantic  ?  " 

"  Quixotic,  perhaps  you  would  say,"  I  added,  hurt  a 
little,  if  I  must  own  it,  at  the  thought. 

"  No ;  not  Quixotic,"  rejoined  Miss  Kate  candidly. 
"  I  never  thought  that,  at  least.  But,  now  I  think  of 
it,  I  can  imagine  that  it  might  become  so,  were  you  to 
allow  it  to  degenerate  on  your  hands." 

"  That  is  just  what  we  shall  never  allow  it  to  do  ! "  I 
exclaimed  rather  too  warmly.  "Our  motto  is,  hard 
study  and  world-wide  travel  combined." 

"  In  that  light  I  admire  your  scheme,"  said  Miss 
Kate.  "And  I  want  to  ask  you  a  question.  Shall 
I?" 

"  Assuredly." 

"  Well,  then —  Excuse  me,  Mr.  Raedway ;  but  would 
it  —  do  you  think  it  would  be  possible  for  a  party  of 
girls  to  adopt  your  plan  ?  " 

I  declare  I  was  a  trifle  staggered  for  a  moment. 

"  I'm  afraid  you  deem  the  question  unladylike,"  said 
Miss  Kate  quickly,  and  with  a  movement  which  broke 
the  rhythm  of  our  forward  motion. 

"  Not  a  bit !  "  I  cried,  with  a  lunge  to  regain  it.  "  I 
thought  only  of  the  difficulties  you  would  have  to  en- 
counter." 

"Would  there  really  be  anything  impossible' in  the 
way  of  it,  in  your  opinion  ?  " 

I  was  frank  enough  to  confess,  that  to  go  about  on  a 
yacht  as  we  had  done,  while  it  might  not  be  exactly 
impossible,  would,  I  feared,  be  well-nigh  impracticable, 
for  girls. 


60  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  All,  you  judge  girls  by  the  little  they  actually  ac- 
complish nowadays  !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Kate.  "  That's 
hardly  fair.  We  could  do  better,  with  opportunity,  —  a 
fair  chance  with  you  young  gentlemen.  Once  free  from 
old-time  restraints,  we  would  show  you  that  even  a 
yacht  would  not  be  out  of  our  range.  But  I  think  it 
likely,"  she  added,  "  that  it  would  be  hardly  feasible  to 
adopt  your  plan  entire.  Yet,  with  some  limitations,  I  do 
not  see  why  a  party  of  girls  might  not  enjoy  the  advan- 
tages of  travel  equally  with  a  party  of  young  gentle- 
men. You  complain  of  the  dull  vegetable  life  at  a  col- 
lege ;  but  let  me  tell  you  that  the  sort  of  life  at  a 
female  seminary  or  boarding-school  is  ten  times  worse,  — 
duller." 

I  had  little  doubt  of  it.  At  the  same  time,  I  was  not 
a  little  surprised  to  hear  such  hard  sense  from  a  beauti- 
ful girl  of  seventeen, — possibly  not  more  than  sixteen. 
How  had  she  come  by  it  ?  A  thought  popped  into  my 
mind. 

"  You  must  be  quite  well  acquainted  with  Kit,  I  sup- 
pose," I  said. 

Miss  Kate  was  silent  a  moment.  Perhaps  she  did 
not  find  me  coherent. 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  she  said.  "  He  is  a  near  neighbor  of 
ours,  you  know.  I  have  always  known  him  ;  and  we 
have  often  spoken  on  these  subjects,"  she  continued. 
"  But  do  you  not  think  he  indulges  in  some  very  radi- 
cal opinions,  —  on  educational  matters,  for  instance  ?  " 

"Not  a  whit  too  radical,"  I  said. 

"  I  knew  you  four  believed  very  much  alike,"  replied 
Miss  Kate.  "Now,  Mr.  Graves  thinks  far  differently." 


FOX-HUNTING.  61 

I  had  no  doubt  he  did. 

"  And  he  is  a  very  sensible  young  man,"  continued 
my  fair  companion.  *<As  a  teacher,  I  like  him  very 
much.  He  is  a  fine  scholar.  In  algebra  and  analysis, 
I  make  better  progress  under  him  than  I  did  under  our 
professor  at  the  seminary.  And  in  Latin  too,  so  far  as 
I  can  know,  he  is  very  correct." 

I  was  foolish  enough  to  say  that  her  good  opinion 
must  be  very  pleasing  to  Mr.  Graves. 

"  Dear  me  ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Kate.  "  I'm  afraid  you 
c  young  yachters '  are  all  alike.  Do  you  know  your 
friend  Mr.  Burleigh  is  fearfully  prone  to  compliment 
ami  to  natter  ?  " 

I  was  not  surprised  to  hear  so  from  such  fair  au- 
thority. 

Just  ahead  of  us,  a  large  hemlock  had  fallen  out  upon 
the  ice  recently. 

"  Why,  where  are  we  ?  "  said  Kate,  glancing  about. 
"  We  have  come  a  long  way.  See !  the  fire  on  the  upper 
rock  is  far  below  us !  We  must  have  come  fully  a  mile. 
Have  you  heard  Kit  and  Julia  pass  us  ?  " 

I  had  not.  I  thought  they  had  gone  farther  up  the 
lake.  We  listened,  but  could  hear  nothing  of  them. 

"We  might  wait  here  for  them  by  the  tree-top,"  I 
suggested. 

"  Well,  let's,"  said  Miss  Kate. 

Still  holding  hands,  we  glided  up  to  the  dark  top,  and 
got  a  jolly  start :  for  a  partridge  had  been  quietly  sit- 
ting in  it,  and,  as  we  touched  the  boughs,  flew  off  with 
a  sudden  whirr  and  flutter ;  at  which  a  fox  barked  with 
a  prolonged  yelp  at  a  little  distance  in  the  woods. 


62  FOX-HUNTING. 

Steadying  ourselves  by  the  projecting  limbs,  we  got 
seats  on  the  trunk  among  the  boughs.  Save  the  wild 
sounds  just  alluded  to,  the  old  woods  were  profoundly 
quiet,  — quiet  as  the  great  dormant  lake  beneath  us. 

"Prone  to  flatter,  is  he?"  I  queried,  referring  to 
what  she  had  said  of  Wash.  "But  how  do  you  like 
him  ?  " 

"  Oh !  he's  a  merry  fellow.  He  makes  one  laugh 
continuously." 

"  That's  his  religion,"  said  I.  "  He  is  devoted  to 
fun." 

"  With  ladies,  you  should  have  added,"  laughed  Miss 
Kate.  "  But  I  shall  like  him,  I  know,"  she  resumed. 
"  It's  easy  as  need  be  conversing  with  him.  He  does 
his  best  to  please  and  amuse  one ;  and  he  doesn't  care 
for  what  you  say,  so  long  as  he  keeps  you  laughing." 

I  could  not  deny  that  this  was  Wash  all  over. 

"But  I  don't  much  like  the  way  he  treats  young 
ladies,"  continued  Miss  Kate  after  a  moment's  silence. 

"  Why  ? "  I  demanded,  secretly  wondering  what 
breach  of  propriety  my  urbane  young  comrade  had  been 
guilty  of.  "  I  hope  he  has  not  offended  you." 

"Oh,  no,  indeed!  But  he  treats  a  young  lady  as  if 
she  were  a  tiling  to  be  amused  and  put  in  a  good 
humor  merely.  He  defers  every  thing  to  her  opinion. 
If  she  were  little  goose  enough  t6  take  the  moon  for  the 
1  green  cheese,'  he  never  would  set  her  right :  he  would 
admit  it  was  cheese,  .and  playfully  remark  his  own 
stupidity  in  not  finding  it  out  before." 

She  said  this  with  such  inimitable  pleasantry,  that  I 
was  admirably  amused. 


FOX-HUNTING.  63 

"  Of  course,  this  is  all  very  polite  and  deferential," 
Miss  Kate  resumed,  after  laughing  a  little  herself. 
"  It's  a  sort  of  flattery ;  and  yet,  come  to  sum  it  up,  it  is 
quite  the  reverse  of  flattery." 

"  Why  so  ?  "  said  I,  beginning  to  get  curious,  and 
wishing  to  have  her  opinion  on  a  very  popular  line  of 
social  polity  among  young  gentlemen  of  my  acquaint- 
ance. 

"  Does  Mr.  Burleigh  defer  always  to  your  opinion,  or 
Kit's,  or  Mr.  Additon's  ?  "  inquired  my  fair  partner. 

I  was  feign  to  reply  that  he  was  not  remarkably 
apt  to. 

"  Values  his  own  opinion  with  you  as  much  as  any- 
body, doesn't  he  ?  " 

I  could  recall  no  instance  of  self-abnegation  on 
Wash's  part  with  which  to  combat  this  shrewd  sug- 
gestion. 

"That's  because  he  looks  upon  you  as  his  equal," 
said  Miss  Kate ;  "  and  it's  because  he  looks  upon  mtr 
opinions  as  of  little  or  no  value  that  he  is  so  very  ready 
to  defer  to  them.  It's  just  as  I  said  a  minute  ago. 
With  all  his  gay  politeness,  he  really  treats  a  young 
lady  as  his  inferior.  Now,  I  don't  like  that.  It's  a 
very  poor  quality  of  flattery,  after  all :  is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"But  perhaps,"  said  I,  "he  defers  because  he  con- 
siders you  more  than  his  equal,  —  his  superior,  say." 

"I  don't  believe  that!*"  cried  Miss  Kate  flatly.  "It's 
not  much  like  you  young  gentlemen.  Come,  now,  you 
don't  believe  it  yourself!  Confess ! " 

To  tell  the  truth,  I  had  not  sufficient  hardihood  to 
re-affirm  the  proposition.  But  I  struck  out  a  new 
defence  for  Wash. 


64  FOX-HUNTING 

"All  young  ladies  are  not  like  you,  Miss  Edwards," 
I  said.  "  Those  of  our  acquaintance  in  the  city,  with 
few  exceptions,  would  not  much  thank  us  for  opposing 
their  ideas.  We  are  expected  to  defer,  and  so  get  a 
habit  of  doing  so.  That's  Wash's  case.  Besides,  Miss 
Edwards,  it  is  not  so  easy  opposing  a  beautiful  young 
lady.  It  takes  more  moral  courage  than  the  most  of 
us  possess.  We  are  too  anxious  to  please." 

"  Oh,  what  a  ridiculous  way  of  putting  things ! 
What  moral  cowards  you  are,  to  be  sure  !  So  the  fault 
is  all  ours,  after  all!  —  But  hark!  There  they  come  ! 
Let's  give  them  a  start!  " 

A  hundred  yards  above,  the  steely  ring  of  skates 
echoed  sharply  from  the  frozen  forest-boughs.  The 
next  instant,  Kit  and  Jule  swept  past  like  shadows. 
I  whistled  shrilly ;  and  we  caught  a  momentary  glimpse 
of  their  faces  turned  to  the  sound. 

"  Now  for  a  race  !  "  cried  Miss  Kate. 

A  second  more,  and  we  were  in  hot  pursuit.  The  dark 
trees  on  the  shore  flew  past.  The  cold  air  poured  into 
our  faces,  and  streamed  past  our  tingling  ears.  Getting 
step  exactly,  Miss  Kate  took  my  arm.  Then  we  went 
even  faster,  and,  having  the  advantages  of  our  rest  at  the 
hemlock-top,  came  to  the  table  but  a  few  yards  behind 
Kit.  It  had  been  a  jolly  chase.  We  all  panted. 

The  others  had  arrived  before  us.  They  had  not  gone 
up  so  far.  Miss  Wealthy  had  slightly  sprained  her 
ankle.  Mr.  Graves  had  burst  the  strap  off  one  of  his 
skates,  and  was  glad  of  the  loan  of  Wade's  second  pair. 

Kit  and  Jule  had  gone  up  and  around  the  "  second 
island,"  distant  from  the  table  nearly  a  mile  and  three- 
quarters.  No  wonder  they  panted. 


FOX-HUNTING.  65 

More  refreshments,  and  a  ten-minutes'  chat  to  get 
rested ;  then  a  second  change  of  partners,  which  robbed 
me  of  the  belle,  but  blessed  Wade.  They  did  look 
nicely  together,  —  both  in  light  colors.  Wash's  envious 
glances  were  my  only  consolation.  Misery  loves  com- 
pany. I  thought  it  a  good  thing  for  his  envy  to  be 
matched  with  the  rapid  Jule.  After  the  race  she  had 
given  me,  I  felt  a  sense  of  satisfaction  in  Wash's  pros- 
pects for  the  next  twenty  minutes.  That  girl  must 
have  muscles  —  somewhere  ! 

Fortune  gave  me  Miss  Nell  this  time  ;  and,  for  variety, 
we  skated  down  the  lake. 

"  How  did  you  succeed  with  Wade  ?  "  I  ventured  to 
ask. 

"  Oh,  splendidly !  "     But  she  laughed  a  good  deal. 

I  could,  however,  get  nothing  more  definite.  No 
doubt  he  had  sworn  her  to  secrecy  as  to  his  tumbliugs. 

"  How  do  you  like  Kate  ?  "  she  inquired. 

Having  understood,  that,  in  theory,  one  girl  does  not 
care  to  hear  too  much  of  the  praises  of  another  girl,  I 
began  guardedly  to  say  that  I  had  been  quite  well 
pleased  with  her.  But  I  was  interrupted. 

"  Of  course  you  were  ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Nell  warmly. 
"  Isn't  she  nice  !  .  .  .  Oh,  you  need  not  hesitate  to  say 
so!  We  are  all  used  to  seeing  Kate  the  belle.  But 
she  is  not  a  bit  proud  :  she  is  just  the  dearest  girl ! 
And,  Mr.  Eaed,  I  do  believe  (very  confidentially)  that 
your  friend  Wash  is  —  very  much  struck  with  her  ! " 

Unquestionably  it  did  look  like  that. 

"You  and  Miss  Kate  are  great  friends,  I  suppose," 
said  I.     "  Has  she  always  lived  in  this  neighborhood  ?  " 
5 


66  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Her  folks  have  ;  but  Kate  has  been  away  to  school 
considerably.  She  has  had  very  good  advantages  for 
a  country-girl.  Kate  is  a  fine  scholar." 

"  I  presume  Kit  and  Miss  Kate  are  very  good 
friends ;  aren't  they  ?  "  I  queried. 

"  What  makes  you  presume  so  ?  "  asked  Nell  a  little 
curiously. 

"  Oh,  nothing !  I  merely  guessed.  .  .  .  But  aren't 
they  ?  " 

"Well,  that's  more  than  I  know,"  replied  Nell. 
"We  did  use  to  think,  four  or  five  years  ago,  that  they 
were  rather  good  friends ;  and  I  never  knew  of  their 
quarrelling.  But,  since  that  time,  there  has  never  been 
any  thing  to  indicate  that  Kit  thinks  more  of  Kate 
than  of  Elsie  or  Jule  Sylvester.  Did  he  never  say 
any  thing  to  you?" 

"  Never  a  word.  Gentlemen,  you  know,  are  not  apt 
to  tell  each  other  of  their  sweethearts." 

"Aren't  they,  though?"  said  Nell.  "Why  not,  I 
wonder  ?  " 

"  Well,  I'm  afraid  it  is  because  they  are  always  too 
distrustful  of  each  other.  They  are  not  confidential, 
like  ladies." 

"  Oh  !  you  think  lady-friends  are  always  confidantes, 
I  suppose." 

I  certainly  had  some  such  idea. 

"Well,  then,  they  aren't  once  in  a  dozen  times. 
Kate  is  one  of  my  very  best  friends  ;  but  I  never  should 
find  out  a  word  from  her.  I  did  ask  her  once,  though," 
continued  Nell,  laughing.  "  She  said,  'Why,  Nell,  what 
a  question !  Kit  and  I  hardly  speak  with  each  other.'  " 


FOX-HUNTING.  67 

"  If  they  were  lovers,  I  guess  you  would  see  signs  of 
it,"  I  observed. 

Nell  thought  so  too";  while  I  went  on  to  state  with 
philosophical  facetiousness  that  love  was  the  most  difficult 
of  all  secrets  to  keep.  "  There's  Mr.  Graves,"  said  I : 
"it's  as  plain  as  day  that  he  is  greatly  interested  in 
Miss  Kate." 

"  Well,  that's  just  what  I've  told  Elsie  Wilhur,"  said 
Nell ;  "  and  Fve  said  so  to  Kate  too." 

"  What  did  she  say  to  that  ?  "  I  questioned. 

"  She  only  laughed,  and  then  looked  serious  a  moment." 

"  Would  she  care  for  Graves,  do  you  suppose  ?  " 

"Well,  no:  I  don't  hardly  believe  she  would.  But 
she  likes  him  very  much  as  a  teacher ;  and  he  is  a  good 
teacher.  Yet  one  wouldn't  always  want  to  go  to  school, 
you  know,"  with  a  queer  laugh. 

"No  more  they  would ! " 

Wade  and  Miss  Kate  glided  past  us.  A  fragment  of 
talk  came  to  my  ear.  He  was  telling  her  of  the  South 
and  boyhood-days  at  home.  I  felt  sure  he  would  enter- 
tain her. 

"Isn't  he  tall  and  nice-looking?"  exclaimed  Nell. 
"  Both  in  white  too  ! " 

Wash  and  Jule  tore  by  like  a  brace  of  arrows. 

"  She  is  swift  enough  for  him  ! "  I  observed. 

"  That  she  is  ! "  laughed  Nell.  "  Such  a  romp  of  a  girl ! 
We  bad  a  race  a  few  days  before  you  came  down.  Jule 
out-skated  all  the  girls ;  and  all  the  fellows  too,  except 
Kit.  I  was  so  pleased  to  see  her  skate  by  Mr.  Graves ! 
He  was  real  provoked  about  it  too.  Hurt  his  mighti- 
ness's  feelings  to  have  a  girl  —  one  of  his  scholars  — 


68  FOX-HUNTING. 

out-skate  him.  I  told  Jule  she  would  get  a  black 
mark  for  that.  And,  really,  he  doesn't  seem  to  like  her 
a  bit ;  though  I  do  not  suppose  that  is  the  cause.  I 
think  he  considers  her  too  forward  and  unladylike." 

After  another  rest  at  the  table,  a  fourtli  promenade 
was  taken  across  to  the  opposite  shore. 

Wash  had  made  an  audacious  attempt  to  secure  Miss 
Kate  for  his  partner ;  but  Mr.  Graves,  who  was  at 
hand  when  Wade  came  in  with  her,  bore  her  away  in 
triumph :  and,  as  it  seemed  to  be  an  understood  thing 
that  Miss  Kate  was  to  skate  with  each  of  the  young 
gentlemen,  I  wasn't  sorry  to  see  it  go  so.  Monopolies 
are  always  hateful.  Miss  Kate  seemed  to  have  elected 
this  way  in  her  own  mind ;  and,  by  way  of  carrying  it 
out,  skated  a  short  turn  with  Kit  on  coming  back  with 
the  Freshman. 

By  this  time  it  was  half-past  nine ;  and  we  were  all 
more  or  less  fatigued  with  the  exercise.  Wash  was  at 
Miss  Kate's  side  to  propose  another  turn ;  but  the  com- 
pany voted  we  had  had  enough  for  one  night.  A  part- 
ing glass  of  cider  was  taken;  skates  were  unbound;  and 
we  wended  our  way  up  through  the  pasture  to  the  road. 
Here  Wash  further  distinguished  himself  by  offering  to 
escort  Miss  Edwards  to  her  home ;  though  she  had  a 
brother  present  abundantly  able  to  have  performed  that 
office.  His  company  was  laughingly  accepted. 

Mr.  Tom  then  took  the  sisters  Wilbur  in  charge.  That 
left  Jule  unprovided  for. 

Wade  and  Mr.  Graves  had  already  turned  away,  pout- 
ing, with  Miss  Nell  and  Miss  Wealthy  (I  speak  it  to 
their  shame).  Kit  stood  regarding  me  a  little  doubt- 


FOX-HUNTING.  69 

fully,  —  to  see  what  my  intentions  were  regarding  Jule, 
probably.  That  illustrious  young  lady  evidently  ex- 
pected something  of  us-  The  ten-year-old  brother  had 
mysteriously  disappeared.  I  at  once  offered  myself,  but 
fancied  I  detected  a  certain  mirthful  expression  on  Kit's 
visage,  the  incentive  to  which  was  presently  apparent  to 
me.  The  young  lady's  residence  was  rather  over  a  mile 
away  !  The  highway  thitherward  had  not  been  sub- 
jected to  modern  improvements;  and  the  recent  hard 
frosts  had  somewhat  aggravated  its  topographical  fea- 
tures. Yet  I  am  bound  to  say  that  the  going -out  was 
amusing,  and  at  times  gay.  Among  its  pleasing  items 
was  the  unexpected  turning-up  of  the  missing  ten-year- 
old  from  a  ditch  beside  the  road,  after  we  had  gone  about 
a  hundred  yards,  and  his  gravely  assuring  me,  that,  had 
I  not  felt  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  do  the  honorable 
thing  by  Jule,  he  should  have  "stood  by"  her  all  the 
same.  That  was  gratifying,  at  least. 

But  the  coming-back  was  an  iron  reality  which  no  pen 
can  soften.  It  was  half-past  ten  ere  I  had  accomplished 
the  round  trip. 

On  entering  the  sitting-room,  I  noted  that  everybody 
seemed  to  have  fallen  into  pleasant  veins  of  thought ; 
and  Kit  at  length  felt  that  he  owed  me  a  public  testimo- 
nial of  his  thankfulness  for  having  relieved  him  of  a 
somewhat  onerous  discharge  of  duty.  There  were  also 
certain  local  inquiries  as  to  the  condition  of  the  ways 
"  out  along." 

Ah,  well !  there  are  some  things  to  be  grinned  at  and 
borne. 


CHAPTER  VL 

Snow.  —  Wash  Ungrateful ;  Wade  Regretful.  —  Ho  for  Fox-Hunt- 
ing!  —  A  Dull  Day.  —  A  New  Project  on  Foot.  —  A  New  Sort 
of  Latin  Lesson. 

Snow  came  at  last,  a  wintry  blast, 

And  piled  the  drifts  up  high  : 
In  a  single  night  a  robe  of  white 

Dropped  down  from  out  the  sky. 

r  I  ^HE  next  morning  it  was  snowing  thickly :  the  very 
-L  thing  we  had  been  so  eagerly  anticipating  for  our 
fox-hunting.  Forest,  field,  and  lake  lay  strangely  white  ; 
and  every  bush  and  every  stump  was  crowned  with  blind- 
ing wreaths.  It  seemed  hardly  like  the  same  landscape. 

When  I  woke,  Wash  was  up,  gazing  ruefully  out  of 
the  window. 

"  It  has  buried  the  ice,"  said  he  in  funereal  accents. 
"  It  will  spoil  the  skating  ! " 

"  But  the  fox-hunting,"  I  suggested  cheerily. 

"Fox-hunting  be  hanged!"  quoth  he.  "Kaed,  it 
will  be  a  long  day  before  we  shall  have  another  so  gay  a 
time  as  we  had  last  night.  Wasn't  it  magnificent? 
1  Shall  we  ever  be  as  gay  if  we  skate  again  ? '  to  quote 
Miss  Larcom  with  a  slight  alteration." 
70 


FOX-HUNTING.  71 

"'Ware  the  little  bare  god  with  the  picked  arrow, 
Wash,"  said  I  warningly. 

"  Nonsense  ! "  said-  he.  "  But,  seriously,  I  wish  this 
confounded  snow  had  delayed  a  week  longer." 

I  begged  to  observe  that  I  should  think  Providence 
would  get  sick  at  heart  answering  some  folks'  prayers, 
since  the  snow  was  the  very  thing  we  had  all  been  long- 
ing for. 

"  Ah !  but  that  was  before  I  saw  —  the  ice,"  replied 
this  grateful  boy. 

Wade  came  into  our  room. 

"  Whew ! "  he  exclaimed,  glancing  out  the  window 
with  a  shudder :  "  this  drops  the  curtain  of  our  ice- 
parties.  Too  bad ! " 

"Isn't  it  real  too  bad  —  the  snow  —  to  spoil  our  skat- 
ing?" echoed  Miss  Nell  at  the  breakfast-table. 

But  I  think  Mr.  Graves  was  secretly  glad  of  it :  it 
deprived  his  enterprising  young  rivals  of  a  dangerous 
advantage.  Truly  "  it's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  no  one 
any  good." 

"  It  will  clear  up  by  noon,"  prophesied  Kit.  "  We'll 
have  the  hounds  out,  and  a  jolly  run  !" 

But  it  didn't  clear  up.  All  day  long,  the  storm  con- 
tinued. It  was  dreary.  Meanwhile  we  inhabited  the 
sitting-room,  read  some,  and  looked  out  the  window  a 
good  deal  more.  • 

Even  the  famous  sweet  cider  and  sponge-russets  failed 
signally  to  relieve  the  disquieting  influences  of  the  pre- 
vious evening.  Wash  was  "feverish:"  he  even  seri- 
ously proposed  to  me  to  visit  school  again  that  afternoon, 
"just  by  way  of  passing  the  time,  you  know."  But  I 
prudently  dissuaded  him. 


72  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Not  too  fast,  my  boy,"  said  I  paternally.  "  You'll 
run  the  whole  thing  into  the  ground." 

Could  better  advice  have  been  given  him,  under  the 
circumstances  ?  Yet,  from  that  moment,  Wash  regard- 
ed me  with  suspicion.  The  unreasonable  pig  !  But  that 
was  only  a  prelude  to  my  trials  with  him.  If  he  has 
any  sort  of  a  conscience  about  him,  I  should  think  he 
would  sometimes  reflect  on  some  of  his  surprisingly  bad 
treatment  of  his  best  friend  that  winter,  and  blush. 

Graves  came  home  from  school  that  night  in  very  good 
spirits ;  seeing  which,  Wash  eyed  him  evilly. 

I  suppose  Kit  observed  every  thing,  though  he  did  not 
seem  to:  indeed,  I  don't  pretend  to  understand  his  whole 
game  that  winter.  But  he  was  certainly  Wash's  friend 
after  a  manner,  and  in  this  instance,  as  also  in  several 
others,  contrived  to  checkmate  the  Freshman.  To  do 
it,  he  projected  a  very  amusing  contrivance,  the  full 
scope  of  which  will  gradually  dawn  on  the  reader,  and 
account  for  the  fact,  that,  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
day,  he  had  been  out  in  the  stable,  pounding  and  ham- 
mering at  something  or  other.  Once,  too,  he  had  ridden 
on  horseback  down  to  the  Edwardses  ;  and  from  the  win- 
dows we  had  seen  him  talking  with  Tom  in  their  yard. 
But  I  had  not  connected  it  with  any  thing  special ;  and 
as  for  Wash  and  Wade,  I  fancy  they  merely  watched 
long  enough  to  satisfy  themselves  that  it  was  not  an 
amatory  errand. 

The  truly  wise  man,  young  or  old,  will  always  be 
ready  to  seize  upon  favorable  opportunities.  Seeing  Mr. 
Graves  in  so  good  a  humor,  it  occurred  to  me,  after  the 
Latin  lesson  that  evening,  to  bring  up  the  subject  of 


FOX-HUNTING.  73 

"Latiu  derivatives"  again.  According  to  Miss  Kate, 
Graves  was  a  fine  Latin  scholar.  Why  not  improve 
these  stormy  evenings -to  get  a  running  knowledge  of 
Latin  in  its  connection  with  English,  and  have  the  bene- 
fits of  Mr.  Graves's  scholarship  ?  A  moment's  thought 
told  me  it  would  be  wrong  to  neglect  so  good  an  oppor- 
tunity to  acquire  serviceable  knowledge.  So  I  presently 
asked  the  Freshman  how  many  of  that  list  of  one  hun- 
dred words  he  had  got  looked  up  for  us.  He  confessed 
frankly  that  he  had  not  yet  begun  on  it ;  but  added,  that 
he  would  commence  now,  if  we  said  so.  As  now  is 
generally  conceded  to  be  the  best  time  in  the  world,  I 
concluded  to  take  him  at  his  word. 

"  What  we  want,"  said  I  (deeming  it  prudent  to  set 
forth  distinctly  our  sharply  practical  views),  "  is  one  hun- 
dred Latin  words  which  have  entered  most  commonly 
into  English  compound  words,  together  with  their  mean- 
ings, and  examples  of  the  manner  in  which  English  words 
are  derived  from  them." 

"I  never  undertook  quite  so  direct  a  task  as  this  be- 
fore," said  Graves.  "  It  isn't  taught  in  the  schools ;  but 
I'll  try.  You  may  as  well  assist  me,  all  of  you." 

He  reflected  a  moment.  "  One  of  you  had  better  act 
as  secretary  to  put  down  the  fruit  of  our  united  labors," 
he  suggested. 

I  nominated  Wash.  I  don't  know  with  how  great  an 
interest  that  young  gentleman  entered  into  the  arrange- 
ment. He  consented  to  serve,  however. 

"  And  now,  Raedway,"  said  the  Freshman,  settling 
back  in  his  chair,  "  take  the  Latin  lexicon,  if  you 
please,  and  find  —  well,  find  the  verb  rego" 


74  FOX-HUNTING. 

I  found  it. 

"  Read  the  parts  of  it." 

"'Rego,  regere,  rexi,  rectum.'  " 

"  What  does  it  mean  in  English  ?  " 

"  It  means  to  rule,  like  a  king ;  to  guide,  to  direct," 

11 1  would  advise,"  said  Mr.  Graves,  "  that  you  all  take 
a  look  at  the  word  in  the  book,  and  that  you  try  by  a 
mental  effort  to  fix  it  in  your  minds,  with  its  meaning." 

The  lexicon  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand. 

"  You  will  see,"  continued  our  instructor,  "  that  the 
root,  or  body,  of  that  verb,  has  three  forms ;  viz.,  reg, 
rex,  and  rect.  Now,  can  you  think  of  any  English  words 
into  which  these  word-roots  enter  ?  " 

"  Regent"  suggested  Wade ;  "  meaning  one  who  rules." 

"Register"  said  Kit;  "from  the  second  meaning  of 
the  verb." 

"  Regular,"  from  Miss  Nell. 

"Rector"  observed  Wash;  "from  the  third  root" 

"  And  rectory,"  added  Wade. 

"Rectitude,"  chimed  in  Miss  Wealthy. 

"  And  direction,"  enumerated  Kit. 

There  were  several  others  given,  which  have  now 
slipped  me. 

"  Well,  now  find  audio,"  advised  Mr.  Graves.  "  The 
parts  are  "  — 

" '  Audio,  audire,  audivi,  auditum,'  "  I  read.  We  all 
examined  it  carefully  with  the  eye,  and  saw  that  in  Eng- 
lish it  means  to  hear;  also  that  its  roots  were  a-ud,  audiv, 
and  audit. 

"  Now,  what  derivatives  can  you  trace  to  audio  ?  "  in- 
quired Mr.  Graves. 


FOX-HUNTING.  75 

"Audible"  said  Miss  Nell,  —  "that  which  can  be 
heard ;  from  the  first  root." 

" Inaudible"  exclaimed  Miss  Wealthy. 

"  Audience"  said  Wade. 

"  Audient"  suggested  Kit. 

"  Audit"  added  Wash,  "  and  auditory;  from  the  third 
root." 

"  Also  auditor"  Wade  continued,  " and  auditive." 

Then  we  had  the  verb  moneo  found,  and  dissected  it 
(if  I  may  use  such  an  expression)  in  the  same  way; 
getting  monitor,  monitory,  and  many  others.  After  that, 
fero,  fere,  tuli,  latum,  an  irregular  verb,  meaning  to 
bear,  or  to  carry,  together  with  its  kindred  verb,  refero ; 
from  which  we  derived  refer,  reference,  referable,  ref- 
eree, &c. 

Then  the  Latin  noun  musa ;  whence  come  muse,  mu- 
sical, music. 

The  noun  servus,  a  slave,  to  which  were  traced  our 
verb  serve,  the  adjective  servile,  and  the  noun  servant. 

The  pronoun  Ego,  I,  gave  us  egotist  and  egotistical. 

Then  the  prepositions  con,  inter,  in,  and  pro,  which 
appear  everywhere  through  our  language  as  prefixes. 
These  twelve  words  made  up  our  first  lesson.  Much  of 
it  was  not  new  to  the  most  of  us ;  yet  I  may  safely  assert 
that  the  review  did  us  no  harm.  Even  the  Freshman 
admitted  that  it  was  the  best  use  he  had  had  his  Latin 
put  to  yet. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Fox-Hunt. 

ladies,  young  and  old,  used  frequently 
_Uj  to  ride,  and  do  even  at  the  present  day,  after  the 
hounds  on  a  fox-hunt.  It  has  been  held  to  be  a  rather 
aristocratic  pastime.  My  friend  Wade  informs  me,  that, 
in  the  Southern  States,  the  ladies  have  occasionally 
joined  in  a  fox-chase;  and  I  have  further  learned,  that, 
in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  the  goodly  damsels  were, 
at  one  time,  a  little  addicted  to  this  exciting  sport. 

Pity  they  gave  it  over !  I  cannot  help  thinking  so. 
Our  girls  have  grown  far  too  delicate  from  their  almost 
utter  renunciation  of  out-door  sports. 

But  in  New  England,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  ascer- 
tained, the  spectacle  of  a  young  lady  fox-hunting  is  an 
innovation,  and  a  very  flagrant  one  to  boot.  Indeed,  it 
is  not  without  some  apprehension  that  I  may  be  expos- 
ing the  young  ladies  of  our  party  to  social  ostracism 
that  I  venture  to  continue  my  record.  But,  dear  reader, 
don't  taboo  us  all  unheard.  We  are  of  your  own  kith 
and  kin,  and,  when  we  have  erred,  are  ready  to  suffer. 

Saturday  morning  after  the  stormy  Friday  showed 
76 


FOX-HUNTING.  77 

broken  weather,  with  about  five  inches  of  snow  on  a 
level,  —  a  grand  morning  for  a  fox-hunt,  as  every  sports- 
man must  agree. 

There  was  no  school  to-day.  Even  Mr.  Graves  could 
join  us,  if  he  chose.  But  of  that  we  were  a  little  doubt- 
ful;  for  he  had  indirectly  hinted  that  he  regarded  it  as 
"  low-lived  sport." 

I. went  down  stairs  a  little  before  sunrise.  Kit  had 
gone  down  before  me,  however;  and,  as  I  entered  the 
sitting-room,  he  called,  "  Coine  out  here  a  moment !  " 

I  followed  to  the  stable.  On  the  floor,  within  the 
slide-doors,  were  set  two  traverse  sleds  (one  behind  the 
other)  ;  and  on  them  was  placed  a  large  "  body,"  twelve 
feet  long  (for  a  guess),  with  a  bottom  of  plank,  and 
board  sides  three  feet  and  a  half  high.  The  forward 
end  rose  in  a  very  lofty  fender-board  to  keep  out  the 
snowballs.  This  novel  sort  of  car  was  about  four  feet 
in  width,  and  had  across  it  four  thwarts,  or  seats,  with 
very  comfortable  backs  of  bass-boards.  The  forward 
sled  had  a  tongue,  with  whiffletrees  for  attaching  two 
horses. 

"  See  this  thing  ?  "  interrogated  Kit  as  I  came  along 
where  he  was  standing. 

It  was  sufficiently  prominent  to  be  visible,  certainly. 

"  Going  to  market  ?  "  I  asked,  somewhat  disappointedly. 
"I  thought  you  were  going  fox-hunting  with  us." 

"  To  be  sure  I  am  going  fox-hunting !  That  thing  is 
for  fox-hunting,  you  must  know." 

"  That  thing  !  "  I  exclaimed.  "Why,  I  took  that  to 
be  for  trucking-purposes,  or  a  pic-nic  !  " 

"No  bad  mistake,  either.      But,  Eaed,  what  say  to 


78  FOX-HUNTING. 

inviting  the  girls  to  a  fox-hunt?  That's  what  I  called 
you  out  here  for.  What  say  to  the  general  idea  ?  " 

I  will  venture  to  assert  that  the  proposition  struck 
me  quite  as  singularly  as  it  will  any  of  my  readers  at 
first.  "  And  ride  in  that  thing  ?  "  I  said. 

"  Yes ;  all  hands  in  this  barge,"  explained  Kit. 
"  You  see,  it's  like  this  with  fox-hunting  up  here  in 
Maine,  —  no  lady,  nor  gentleman  either,  if  never  so 
well  mounted  (on  horseback),  could  follow  the  hounds 
through  our  swamps,  or  over  our  rocky,  ledgy  pasture- 
ridges.  It  would  be  quite  impracticable.  Besides,  our 
girls  don't  ride  much.  They  all  dote  on  the  idea  of  rid- 
ing horseback:  still  only  one  or  two  in  this  neighborhood 
are  even  tolerably  good  riders.  Now,  I  know  the  man- 
ner our  foxes  generally  run,  pretty  well.  They  circle 
about  from  hill  to  hill  over  the  rising  lands  off  to  the 
west  of  us.  There  are  roads,  — rather  bad  ones,  to  be 
sure,  —  at  intervals  of  a  mile  or  so,  leading  all  around 
from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood,  with  cross-roads  and 
winter-roads  connecting  them. 

"Now,  my  plan  is  to  lay  the  hounds  on  a  track, — hav- 
ing first  got  our  party  together,  and  snugly  aboard  our 
'  barge '  here,  —  then  follow  them  by  road  as  nearly  as  we 
can.  We  shall  be  able  to  keep  in  hearing  of  them,  I 
know ;  and  we  may  often  be  able  to  sight  the  chase,  and 
be  not  far  off  at  'the  death.'  At  any  rate,  we  shall  be 
sure  of  a  good  heigh-ho  time,  and  have  the  company  of 
the  girls.  What  say  ?  " 

The  scheme  was  a  startlingly  original  one,  and  vastly 
alluring. 

"  But  how  do  you  know  the  girls  would  go  ? "  I 
asked.  "  They  might  not  take  to  it  kindly." 


FOX-HUNTING.  79 

"  Oh  !  I'll  answer  for  that,"  rejoined  Kit.  "  In  fact, 
I  hinted  it  to  them  the  other  night  at  the  ice-party.  It 
never  occurred  to  me'  till  then.  I  found  what  a  good 
time  we  were  having  with  them,  skating  ;  and  I  thought, 
Why  can't  they  fox-hunt  with  us  ?  So  I  rigged  up  this 
thing.  We  can  but  try  the  experiment,  you  know. 
I've  talked  it  over  with  young  Edwards.  He  can  fur- 
nish a  horse  to  put  ahead  of  my  span :  that  will  make 
three.  And  they're  right  on  their  mettle.  We  shall  go 
flying." 

Wash  and  Wade  came  out  to  see  what  was  going  on. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  hailed  the  project  enthu- 
siastically. 

"  But  what  will  Graves  say  to  it,  think  ? "  I  ques- 
tioned. 

"  Oh,  hang  Graves  ! "  cried  Wash.     "  He's  a  muff." 

"  But  we  must  ask  him,  of  course,"  remarked  Kit. 

I  went  after  him.  He  was  in  the  sitting-room,  trans- 
lating "  Horace,"  with  lexicon  and  grammar  open  before 
him. 

"  Mr.  Graves,"  said  I,  "  the  boys  have  a  conundrum 
for  you  out  at  the  stable.  Can  you  spare  them  a  mo- 
ment ?  " 

He  went  back  with  me.  Kit  briefly  explained  the 
"  barge,"  and  gave  him  an  invitation  to  take  passage 
with  us.  Perhaps,  as  teacher,  he  caught  sight  of  his 
public  responsibility ;  for  he  demurred,  and  something 
very  like  a  frown  came  out  on  his  brow. 

"  It  would  be  highly  imprudent  for  the  young  ladies 
to  go  on  such  a  harum-scarum  jaunt;  and,  further- 
more, I "  — 


80  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  But  the  girls  have  promised  to  go,"  Kit  judiciously 
interrupted. 

"Have  they?"  exclaimed  the  Freshman  in  some 
surprise.  "Well,  then,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say. 
Yes  "  (after  a  little  hesitation),  "  I  will  go.  Thank  you  !  " 

Kit  could  not  resist  a  wink  with  Wash. 

We  went  into  breakfast.  I  noticed  that  Miss  Nell 
eyed  us,  particularly  Mr.  Graves,  rather  perplexedly. 
Of  course  she  wanted  to  go.  What  young  lady  would 
not  enjoy  so  merry  a  ride  over  the  first  snow  ?  But 
she  had  a  wholesome  fear  of  doing  a  forward  thing 
none  the  less.  I  broached  the  topic  as  judiciously  as 
possible ;  and  it  was  discussed  in  florid  language  by 
Wade  and  Wash.  Grandmother  was  not  one  of  those 
inflexibly  rigid  old  ladies  who  so/netimes  make  us  regret 
the  past  generation  less  than  we  should.  She  did  not 
oppose  the  girls  going  on  "  general  principles,"  but  stip- 
ulated that  Kit  should  be  sure  not  to  "  overset  them." 
The  dear  old  lady  feared  a  physical  calamity  more  than 
a  moral  one.  Kit  readily  guaranteed  absolute  safety. 

Some  time  before  the  long  prayer  was  over,  we  heard 
a  jingle  in  the  yard.  Tom  Edwards  had  come  up  with 
his  horse,  a  very  dark-gray  animal,  full  of  fire  and  mettle. 
His  name  made  us  laugh.  They  called  him  Gill-yo- 
over-the-ground,  —  pronounced  shortly  Gill-g'wover-th'- 
ground, — from  a  well-known  medicinal  herb  common 
in  this  locality  ;  also  in  allusion  to  his  speed,  which  was, 
as  I  understood,  something  approximating  the  electric 
element.  Never  has  young  man  owned  horse  yet  that 
wasn't  troubled  with  that  dreadful  disease,  speed. 

Billy-Boy  and  Slippery-Dick,   Kit's   span   of  bays, 


FOX-HUNTING.  81 

were  put  on  the  tongue.     Gill-gVover-th'-ground  was 
put  on  the  lead. 

"Wash's  rifle  and  Kit's  double-barrelled  shot-gun  were 
set  in  a  rack  behind  the  fender-board.  I  felt  a  little 
uneasy  at  having  such  mortal' weapons  in  so  close  prox- 
imity to  ^adies  ;  but  their  use  was  to  be  attended  with 
special  caution.  Buffalo-skins  were  spread  over  the 
seats ;  the  redoubtable  cider-jug  was  put  aboard ;  and 
two  small  vivid  flags  were  set  up  at  each  corner  of  the 
fender.  It's  no  use  for  American  youth  to  attempt  any 
thing  big  without  having  up  the  national  bunting,  or 
something  resembling  it :  they  wouldn't  feel  right.  The 
flavor  of  the  thing  would  be  wanting. 

The  hounds  were  taken  from  their  stalls  ;  and  Emery, 
the  hired  man,  set  in  the  hinder  end  of  the  barge  to 
lead  them  till  wanted. 

Young  Edwards  undertook  the  driving  from  the 
higher  front-seat.  He  had  a  teamster's  whip  with  a 
twelve-foot  lash,  ending  in  a  green  silk  snapper  that 
cracked  like  a  pistol. 

The  barge  was  taken  round  to  the  door.  A  rude  step 
had  been  improvised  on  the  left  side,  where  an  open 
space,  about  two  feet  in  width,  had  been  left  in  the  bul- 
warks. There  was  also  another  step  in  the  hinder  end. 

Nell  and  Wealthy  were  helped  in,  blushing  a  little, 
and  protesting  that  it  was  a  "  dreadful-looking  thing." 

It  cost  Graves  quite  a  sacrifice  of  dignity  to  get  in, 
and  get  in  so  quick  as  he  had  to;  fpr  the  horses  were 
restive.  But  for  Miss  Kate,  I'm  morally  convinced  he 
would  have  cut  the  whole  thing,  and  gone  back  to 
"Horace." 

6 


82  FOX-HUNTING. 

A  crack  of  the  whip,  a  creak,  and  a  sharp  jingle-jangle  ! 
We  dashed  away;  but,  glancing  back  as  we  turned  into 
the  road,  I  saw  grandmother's  lips  moving  in  that 
final  exhortation,  —  " Now  do  be  careful,  Christopher/" 
and  Kit  kept  nodding  re-assuringly,  laughing  good- 
naturedly. 

The  sun  had  come  out  brightly.  The  whole  country 
was  dazzlingly  white.  Ah  !  it  was  inspiring. 

Miss  Kate  stood  on  the  steps,  waiting  our  approach 
with  an  amused  smile.  We  "cut  a  figure,"  no  doubt. 
I  thought  her  even  more  beautiful  than  on  the  evening  of 
the  ice-party.  Hers  was  a  beauty  that  grew  on  one.  At 
sight  of  her,  Wash  glowed  with  admiration.  (Let's  see  : 
she  had  on  that  morning  —  what  did  she  have  on? 
Well,  there  was  white  to  it,  —  a  good  deal  of  white.  I 
think  white  must  have  been  Miss  Kate's  favorite  color ; 
one  of  them,  at  least.)  A  veritable  queen  of  the  snow  ! 
All  of  us  boys  turned  out  en  masse  to  assist  her  into  the 
barge ;  for  which  attention  she  divided  a  very  bewitching 
smile  equally  among  us.  And  I'm  sure  I  took  my  own 
little  fifth,  and  felt  very  happy  over  it. 

Wash  had  the  pleasure  of  handing  her  up  the  step; 
Wade  held  her  shawl ;  Mr.  Graves  took  her  lunch-basket ; 
Kit  and  I  gazed  admiringly  on  from  behind ;  her  brother 
Tom  smiled  a  mild  sarcasm  from  his  high  seat.  To  him 
—  fortunate  youth !  —  she  was  only  sister  Kate,  any- 
how. 

Morning  greetings  all  round.  Laughing  comments 
on  our  project  and  novel  equipage.  Ecstasies  over  the 
beautiful,  glittering  snow. 

"But  I  doubt  you  are  very  wrong  to  tempt  us  girls 


FOX-HUNTING.  83 

to  such  rough  sport,"  said  our  charmer,  with  half-serious, 
questioning  eyes. 

"Ah,  Miss  Kate !  *  cries  Wash,  "your  temptation  is 
not  to  be  compared  with  ours  !  " 

"But  it  is  a  most  unheard-of  thing  —  in  New  Eng- 
land," she  protested. 

"  It  will  shortly  be  celebrated ! "  Wade  exclaims. 

We  dashed  past  the  schoolhouse.  The  hounds  bayed 
joyously  from  behind.  A  moment  later,  we  drew  up  at 
the  Wilburs. 

But  Miss  Elsie  alone  could  accompany  us.  Miss 
Georgie  must  needs  remain  at  home  "  to  help  mother." 
Alas  for  those  girls  who  have  to  spend  their  one  weekly 
holiday  helping  mother!  and  doubly  alas  for  those 
mothers  whose  work  is  never  done  ! 

On  again  to  take  up  Jule.  The  Sylvester  mansion 
was  situated  amid  quite  peculiar  geological  scenery.  In- 
deed, it  had  struck  me  as  ratber  remarkable  on  the  even- 
ing of  my  first  visit ;  though  I  retained  but  a  confused 
recollection  of  it.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
house,  the  road  led  down  a  very  steep  hill  into  a  ravine, 
and,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  turned  sharply  to  the  left  to 
evade  a  high  crag ;  and  thenceforward  continued  wind- 
ing among  crags  and  ledges  up  to  the  very  piazza-steps. 
There,  on  turning  the  last  rock,  we  espied  Jule  in  full 
plumage.  Something  in  her  manner,  or  else  it  was  tbe 
bright  red  of  her  cheeks,  led  me  to  conclude  she  had 
stood  out  there  some  time,  awaiting  us.  But  the  ten- 
year-old  was  invisible.  Just  as  we  started  on,  however, 
I  had  a  glimpse  of  him  at  the  door  of  an  out-house  ;  but 
he  dodged  instantaneously.  Had  his  orders  to  keep  out 


84  FOX-HUNTING. 

of  sight,  I  fancied.  Jule  brought  with  her  a  strong 
atmosphere  of  robust  health  and  musk-cologne ;  and, 
for  my  own  part,  I  like  the  latter  not  quite  so  well  as 
the  former,  but  should  have  enjoyed  both  better  had  I 
not  unfortunately  intercepted  just  the  slightest  possible 
glance  between  Miss  Nell  and  Miss  Kate  as  the  arrogant 
odor  saluted  us.  Much  to  my  pleasure,  and  a  little  to 
my  confusion,  Jule  attached  herself  unhesitatingly  to 
me,  and  entered  upon  my  entertainment  with  a  very 
agreeable  conversation,  for  which  I  could  but  feel  the 
more  grateful  that  Wash  and  Wade  had  left  me  little  to 
do  elsewhere  ;  while  the  pretty  Elsie  was  Kit's  care. 
Possibly  Miss  Sylvester  deemed  this  much  due  to  a 
youth  who  had  braved  the  crags  and  the  ruts  at  a  late 
hour  of  the  night  for  her  sake.  Her  whole  mien  seemed 
to  acknowledge  my  claim ;  and  it  did  look  as  if,  my 
behavior  continuing  good,  I  might  make  —  an  impres- 
sion. 

Jule's  conversational  powers  were,  by  nature,  unex- 
ceptionally  good.  She  thought  strongly.  Her  mind 
was  as  healthy  and  athletic  as  her  body.  Her  thoughts 
impressed  sharply  on  one's  attention,  ^-sometimes  by 
reason  of  the  not  very  select  phrase  with  which  they 
were  uttered,  but  oftener  from  their  downright  practical- 
ness and  vis  viva.  It  would  have  been  quite  foreign  to 
Jule  to  be  morbid  or  lackadaisical  or  very  romantic. 
She  was  as  strong  a  girl  as  I  ever  met,  —  a  perfect  maga- 
zine of  unexpended  energy,  which  might  go  right  or 
wrong,  according  to  circumstances :  I  thought  it  about 
a  toss-up  which. 

But,  sitting  there  in  the  glow  of  her  rich  vitality,  I 


FOX-HUNTING.  85 

covertly  admired  her.  What  a  pity  such  girls  can't  be 
lawyers  or  clergymen  !  They  would  be  morally  certain 
to  carry  a  jury  or  a  congregation.  Why  waste  all  this 
vital  force  in  a  wash-tub  ?  We  do  seriously  need  a 
committee  pro  bono  publico  to  look  up  these  promising 
young  humans,  and  draw  them  forth  from  their  dark 
corners  to  fill  the  many  intellectual  vacuums  in  higher 
life.  Why,  one  girl  like  Jule  is  worth  a  score  of  the 
breathing,  salaried  existences  we  are  daily  stumbling 
over  all  along  life's  route. 

Half  a  mile  beyond  the  Sylvesters'  was  a  "corners," 
whence  another  road  ran  northward.  Up  this  young 
Edwards  drove  the  barge  at  a  dashing  canter ;  but  the 
snow-balls  whistled  harmlessly  overhead,  entirely  demon- 
strating the  practical  wisdom  of  Kit's  lofty  fender. 

Back  in  the  barge,  ensconced  amid  buffaloes,  and  those 
multitudinous  shawls  and  scarfs  which  always  mark  the 
fair  feminine  presence,  we  were  as  cosey  as  cats  in  a 
basket,  with  just  enough  of  the  bracing  morning  air 
gushing  in  to  give  tone  and  vigor. 

I  was  pleased  to  see  the  rose  gradually  deepen  on 
pretty  Miss  Elsie's  pale  cheek,  and  thought  it  one  of  the 
first  best  fruits  of  our  scheme. 

The  road  led  along  the  foot  of  a  high,  rugged  ridge  on 
one  side,  and  a  cedar-swamp  on  the  other.  There  were 
no  houses  here.  After  about  a  mile  from  the  turn,  Mr. 
Tom  drew  up. 

"What  say  for  trying  it  here?"  said  he,  turning. 

"  All  right ! "  cried  Kit.  "  Here,  Emery,  hold  the 
team,  and  give  us  the  hounds  ! " 

All  of  us  boys,  save  Mr.  Graves,  turned  out  to  help 


86  FOX-HUNTING. 

look  up  a  fox-track.  Kit  and  Tom  Edwards  both 
declared  we  were  pretty  sure  of  one  somewhere  in  the 
swamp  to  the  right  of  the  road.  Wash,  Wade,  and  my- 
self, each  leading  a  hound,  followed  after  them. 

Hare-tracks  intersected  the  swamp  in  every  direction, 
and  partridges  whirred  away  before  us.  Not  more  than 
a  hundred  yards  from  the  road,  we  crossed  a  fox-trail, 
partly  covered  by  snow,  and  made  late  the  previous  day. 
But  Edwards  wouldn't  hear  to  putting  the  hounds  on 
that. 

"  He's  too  far  ahead,  Kit,"  he  argued.  "  Take  us  all 
day  to  come  up  near  him." 

Went  on  again  for  a  hundred  rods,  or  more,  to  where 
the  pastures  on  the  other  side  of  the  swamp  bordered  it. 
Kit  was  ahead,  and  had  followed  up  to  the  northward 
to  where  a  brook  made  down  the  bed  of  a  deep  gully 
from  the  eastward.  Coming  down  this  gully  from  the 
direction  of  the  farm-houses  above  was  a  fresh  track, 
made  not  many  minutes  ago.  Kit's  clear  "  So-ho  !  " 
announced  his  success.  The  hounds  heard,  and  bayed 
out  exultingly.  We  hurried  up. 

"  Here,  Jim  !  "  exclaimed  Kit,  unlocking  his  collar. 
"  See  here,  old  fellow !  So-ko,  so-ho  !  " 

A  moment  of  fierce  snuffling,  a  loud  challenge,  and 
the  leader  sprang  away.  Old  Nance  was  next  unloosed ; 
then  Grinx.  The  woodland  rang  again  to  their  clearer 
bay.  Then  all  three  blended  their  cries,  —  "  Ough,  oiiyh- 
ouffh-ouyh,  oiiflh-oufl7i,  ough ! "  to  which  was  added  a 
distant  "So-ho  "  from  Mr.  Graves. 

We  hurried  back  with  the  collars  and  chains  to  an- 
nounce the  opening  of  the  chase  to  the  ladies.  They 


FOX-HUNTING.  87 

had  heard  the  hounds ;  and  I  could  but  smile  at  the  fever 
of  joyous  excitement  into  which  the  first  notes  of  the 
chase  had  thrown  them.' 

What  so  beguiling  as  the  cry  of  hounds  afield  ?  Is  it 
a  penchant  we  inherit  from  our  fox-hunting  ancestors 
across  the  sea? — the  hearty  squires  of  "  Merry  England." 
Perhaps.  "Blood  will  tell,"  they  say.  But,  be  that  as  it 
may,  I  will  wager  that  no  fairer  faces  ever  graced  the 
chase  in  Anglo- Albion  than  beamed  from  our  fox-barge 
in  Anglo-American  Maine  that  bright  morning. 

"  Oh  !  will  they  catch  him  ?  —  do  you  think  they  will 
really  catch  the  sly  rogue  ? "  cried  Miss  Kate.  "  Poor 
fellow  !  Of  course,  he  isn't  to  blame  ;  but,  oh  !  isn't  it 
just  gay  ?  " 

"  And  do  drive  ahead !  "  put  in  Miss  Nell.  "  I  want 
to  see  so ! " 

Their  enthusiasm  must  have  richly  repaid  Kit  all  the 
anxieties  of  his  invention ;  and  it  did.  I  saw  it  in  his 
eye.  Even  delicate  Elsie  pulled  off  her  gloves  to  clap 
her  hands,  —  some  good  sharp  spats  that  could  but  aid 
circulation. 

"Why,  how  she  does  enjoy  it !"  observed  Mr.  Graves 
deprecatingly  to  me. 

"  And  why  shouldn't  she  ?  "  said  Miss  Kate  over  her 
shoulder ;  for  she  had  overheard  the  remark,  and  was,  I 
think,  a  little  nettled  by  the  tone.  She  put  the  ques- 
tion plump,  and  so  laughingly  quizzical,  that  Graves 
flushed  under  it :  seeing  which,  she  added  gravely,  "  You 
may  be  right  all  the  same ;  but  I  cannot  help  hoping  you 
are  not.  .  Are  you  sure  that  your  objections  are  not 
rather  prejudices  ?  " 


88  FOX-HUNTING. 

I  had  inferred  that  Graves  had,  while  we  were  beating 
the  swamp,  taken  the  opportunity  to  express  his  opinions 
on  Kit's  project.  But  I  did  not  hear  his  reply :  for 
Jule  now  took  my  attention,  exclaiming  that  this 
seemed  like  sport,  and  she  didn't  care  what  "old  fo- 
gies "  said  about  it ;  which  showed,  I  presume,  that  she 
did  care  a  little. 

I  concluded  that  Mr.  Graves's  opinions  had  excited 
opposition.  Generally  speaking,  I  believe  it  -is  not  a 
very  sure  road  to  a  young  lady's  favor  to  call  the  deli- 
cacy of  any  point  of  behavior  in  question  after  she  has, 
of  her  own  accord,  entered  upon  it.  If  the  Freshman  had 
not  been  a  cad,  he  would  have  known  better.  But,  being 
the  schoolmaster,  they  doubtless  forgave  him  —  out  of 
deference  due  the  teacher  —  what  they  wouldn't  have 
forgiven  any  one  of  us  "yachter  chaps;"  and  not  to 
blame  either.  To  be  frank,  I  never  much  liked  his  seiz- 
ing that  chance  to  lecture  the  girls  while  we  were  beating 
up  the  fox  for  his  amusement  as  well  as  our  own.  I 
hope  that  he  did  really  feel  it  his  duty  to  do  so :  that's 
all. 

For  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  the  hounds  threaded  the 
swamp,  doubling  in  and  out  among  the  cedar,  and  work- 
ing up  north.  Whether  the  fox  had  actually  been  in 
the  swamp  when  we  first  laid  on  the  hounds,  we  could 
not  ascertain.  The  evergreen'  was  too  thick  to  see  into. 
The  hounds  did  not  sight  him,  at  any  rate.  Possibly 
he  was  miles  ahead. 

As  they  moved  up  the  swamp,  we  drove  slowly  along 
the  road,  keeping  about  twenty  rods  below,  or  there- 
abouts. On  a  sudden  they  ceased  doubling  about,  and 


FOX-HTJNTING.  89 

ran  swiftly  on,  in  an  apparently  straight  course,  for  half 
a  mile  or  more.  We  followed  at  a  gallop.  But  they 
tacked  sharply  to  the 'left,  and  crossed  the  road  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  ahead  of  us,  going  right  for  the  top 
of  the  ridge  five  hundred  feet  above. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  sort  of  sport  offered 
by  the  gray  fox  of  Maryland  and  the  South  and  the  red 
fox  of  New  England.  The  latter  is  essentially  shyer, 
besides  being  a  swifter  and  "longer-winded"  runner. 
The  Southern  gray  fox  does  not  usually  keep  farther 
than  one  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  the  hounds,  often 
preserving  this  distance  quite  uniformly  for  three  or 
four  hours.  The  red  fox,  on  the  contrary,  when  first  he 
hears  the  cry  of  his  pursuers,  starts  off  at  his  best  paces, 
and  puts  a  mile  or  two  between  them  and  himself  at  the 
outset,  and,  during  a  long  run,  rarely  lets  them  come  up 
within  half  a  mile  till  near  the  end.  When  you  see  a 
red  fox  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the 
hounds,  you  may  safely  calculate  on  his  being  overhauled 
not  more  than  half  a  mile  farther  on :  he  is  about  done 
for. 

As  we  drove  rapidly  along  the  road  below,  we  got 
a  glimpse  of  the  hounds  going  up  the  steep  ledgy  side 
of  the  ridge  three  hundred  feet  above  us. 

"  Dear  me !  we  can't  follow  them  now ! "  cried  Miss 
Nell  in  genuine  vexation. 

"What's  the  next  move?"  demanded  Wash  of  Kit. 

Kit  then  explained,  that,  a  mile  above  this  point,  there 
was  a  cross-road  leading  over  into  the  next  neighbor- 
hood, at  a  place  where  the  acclivity  was  not  so  great. 
We  could  go  up  there,  and  probably  see  or  hear  what 
direction  the  chase  was  taking. 


90  FOX-HUNTING. 

On  we  go  at  full  speed,  reaching  the  turn  in  a  few 
minutes.  A  long  hill  here  confronted  us ;  and,  out  of  hu- 
manity to  the  horses,  we  got  out  and  walked  with  them 
to  the  top  of  the  ridge,  —  distance  a  hundred  rods,  for  a 
guess.  Here  we  pulled  up  for  breath,  and  to  listen. 

Down  to  the  south  the  ridge  was  much  higher  than  at 
the  place  where  we  had  climbed  it.  Near  the  road,  it 
was  cleared  and  into  pasturage ;  but,  half  a  mile  below 
us,  it  rose  in  a  succession  of  snowy  ledges,  along  which 
grew  stretches  of  shrub-spruce,  contrasting  blackly  with 
the  white  snows. 

Far  behind  this  rough  hill  the  hounds  could  be  heard 
baying  faintly.  But,  as  we  listened,  the  sounds  seemed 
to  come  nearer,  till  on  a  sudden  they  burst  out  in  full 
cry  on  the  side  next  us. 

"  Ough,  ough-ough,  ouyh,  ougli,  ough-ough!" 

There's  music  for  a  sportsman  ! 

First  Miss  Wealthy's  keen  eyes,  then  the  rest  of  us, 
espied  them  coursing  along  the  crest  of  one  of  the 
ledges.  Miss  Kate  drew  out  a  small  opera-glass. 

"  Oh !  can  you  see  the  fox  ?  "  was  the  eager  inquiry 
from  all  the  girls. 

But  Reynard  was  nowhere  visible. 

Kit  explained  that  the  game  was  no  doubt  a  mile 
ahead  of  the  dogs  at  this  time  of  day ;  and  then  went 
on  to  tell  us  of  half  a  dozen  instances  where  he  had 
known  of  a  fox  "  circling  "  about  this  very  hill. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  had  passed  round  to  the  east- 
ward, out  of  sight,  and  well-nigh  out  of  hearing.  We 
waited  anxiously  to  see  whether  they  would  come  round 
again.  At  first  we  inferred  that  they  would;  for  the 


FOX-HUNTING.  91 

baying  seemed  to  be  approaching  from  round  the  west- 
ward spur.  Then  there  was  a  silence  of  a  few  minutes, 
succeeded  by  fainter  cries  lower  down  the  mountain- 
side. 

"Gone  for  the  'pond  woods!'"  exclaimed  young 
Edwards. 

"  Quit  the  hill ! "  echoed  Kit  simultaneously. 

On  again  at  a  full  run,  emerging  presently  into  a 
quiet  little  farming  neighborhood  of  half  a  dozen  houses. 
Good  staid-looking  folks  came  rushing  out  of  doors  in 
unwonted  excitement  as  we  tore  along  amid  a  cloud  of 
snowballs  to  the  merry,  brassy  notes  of  an  old  cornet 
which  Kit  had  brought  to  take  the  place  of  a  hunt- 
ing-horn. 

Just  what  sort  of  an  opinion  the  honest  people  formed 
of  us  it  would  be  unwise  to  conjecture. 

Meanwhile  the  hounds  were  coursing  a  rough,  bushy 
pasture  down  to  the  left  of  the  road,  flitting  in  and  out 
among  alder-clumps;  and,  as  we  came  dashing  down 
the  hill,  they  ran  across  the  road  in  full  cry  not  more 
than  two  hundred  yards  in  advance,  and  entered  the 
woods  to  the  right.  This  was  the  "pond-woods"  of 
which  young  Edwards  had  spoken,  occupying  a  great 
interval  bottom  at  the  foot  of  a  long  pond,  of  which  we 
had  got  snowy  glimpses  from  the  top  of  the  ridge 
above. 

"What  did  I  tell  you!"  cried  Mr.  Tom  to  Kit,  with 
a  sapient  nod. 

"  Oh,  there  ! "  cried  Jule  despairingly.  "  They  never'll 
find  him  in  that  great,  thick  woods!" 

"  I'm  so  afraid  we've  lost  him  !  "  lamented  Miss  Nell, 


92  FOX-HUNTING. 

Miss  Kate  glanced  regretfully  to  Kit.  "  Oh  !  they'll 
have  him  out  of  there,"  said  that  experienced  young  gen- 
tleman. "He  will  show  them  some  fancy  doubling;  but 
they'll  put  him  out.  Never  you  fret." 

"  But  it  will  be  a  two-hours'  job,"  laughed  Mr.  Tom  ; 
"  and  there's  no  telling  which  way  he  may  take  at 
last." 

The  road  ran  along  the  border  of  the  woods  for 
nearly  a  mile.  We  let  the  horses  walk  slowly,  stopping 
occasionally.  The  hounds  were  now  deep  in  the  woods, 
off  to  the  right. 

On  the  left,  to  the  south-west,  there  rose  smother  high 
hill,  its  cleared  sides  white  with  the  new  snow.  Its  top 
was  crested  with  spruce. 

"  When  the  fox  finds  he  can't  shake  the  dogs  off  in 
the  woods  here,  he  will  either  take  for  '  Old  Hazeldock ' ': 
(the  hill  to  the  south-west),  "or  cut  back  to  'Hedge-hog 
Hill '  "  (the  ledgy  ridge-top  around  which  the  hounds  bad 
previously  been  running).  "  He  will  be  pretty  sure  to 
do  one  or  the  other ;  but  which  of  the  two  he  will  do,  a 
fellow  can  only  guess  at.  I  don't  suppose  the  old  chap 
knows  himself,  yet,  which  he  is  going  to  do."  Thus  Kit 
explained  the  situation. 

Off  in  the  pasture,  to  the  left  of  the  road,  there  was 
a  high,  bare  knoll,  fifty  feet  above  the  road,  perhaps,  and 
distant  from  where  we  were  sitting  twenty-five  or  thirty 
rods. 

"  If  we  were  only  on  that  knoll,"  I  suggested,  "  we 
could  hear  and  see  vastly  better."  Young  Edwards 
glanced  at  the  intervening  bushes  and  hollows.  "  Can 
we  do  it  ?  "  said  he  to  Kit. 


FOX-HUNTING.  93 

"  I  think  so,"  was  the  reply.  "  Down  with  the  fence, 
Emery ! " 

The  "  hired  man  "  th'rew  aside  the  poles  and  stakes. 
The  horses'  heads  were  turned ;  and  we  cleared  the  ditch 
with  a  bump,  and  went  smashing  through  the  brush,  and 
up  the  side  of  the  knoll,  at  a  run. 

I  had  not  dreamed  of  their  undertaking  so  doughty  a 
feat.  Miss  Nell  and  Miss  Else  had  protested  nervously 
at  first,  but  laughed  as  gayly  as  the  rest  when  we  found 
ourselves  on  the  knoll  a  minute  later. 

"  '  There  are  some  things  which  can  be  done  as  well  as 
others,'  "  quoted  Kit,  laughing. 

"  I  hope  you  have  not  taken  Sam  Patch  for  your  ex- 
ample, sir,"  observed  Kate  dryly. 

"  Possible  you  don't  appreciate  the  immortal  Sam  ?  " 
bantered  Kit.  "  I  thought  you  admired  courage,  Kate. 
Come,  now,  don't  frown  on  the  physically  bravest  youth 
of  his  time  in  America." 

Miss  Kate  found  something  so  outrageous  in  this  ex- 
hortation, that  she  turned  to  look  the  offender  full  in  the 
face.  Their  eyes  met  —  for  a  second;  then  Kit,  still 
laughing,  jumped  out  of  the  "  barge  "  under  pretence  of 
unchecking  the  horses.  There  was  something  in  this 
ocular  manoeuvre  which  I  did  not  quite  understand.  I  do 
not  know  whether  or  not  Wash  observed  it.  Wade  was 
talking  with  Elsie. 

From  the  knoll-top  we  could  look  off  over  the  woods. 
The  view  from  this  point,  also,  commanded  the  pastures 
along  the  flanks  of  the  woods  on  both  sides. 

Young  Edwards  declared  we  could  not  do  better  than 
stay  here  till  the  fox  had  been  driven  out  of  the  forest- 
lands. 


94  FOX-HUNTING. 

The  hounds  were  now  far  down  toward  the  pond. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  he  hasn't  a  burrow  down  that 
way  somewhere  ?  "  Wash  questioned. 

Mr.  Tom  thought  it  likely  enough  there  might  be 
burrows  down  there,  but  was  very  sure  the  fox  wouldn't 
take  the  ground  so  early  in  the  chase. 

"  Our  red  foxes  —  those  about  here  at  least  —  never  take 
to  a  hole  until  the  dogs  fairly  drive  them  to  it,"  he  con- 
tinued. "  I  have  known  a  red  fox  to  run  all  day  back 
and  forth  from  hill  to  hill,  and  finally  enter  a  burrow  not 
half  a  mile  from  the  spot  where  he  had  first  been  started 
in  the  morning.  The  sly  fellows  know  we  have  a  trick 
of  digging  them  out,  or  smoking  them  out;  and  you 
never  get  one  of  them  to  enter  a  den  so  long  as  he  stands 
a  ghost  of  a  chance  of  getting  clear  by  running." 

Kit  remarked  that  there  was  one  den,  in  a  ledge  just 
to  the  west  of  the  lake  where  we  had  skated,  which  was 
an  exception  to  this  rule." 

"  Yes  ;  but  we  stopped  that  up  long  ago,"  said  Tom. 
"  The  foxes  would  whip  into  that  whenever  they  could ; 
for,  once  in  there,  nobody  could  either  dig  them  out,  or 
smoke  them  out ;  and  the  rogues  knew  it." 

Recourse  was  now  had  to  the  cider-jug  (I  must  beg 
the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  that  it  was  sweet  cider)  ;  and 
a  basket  of  those  sponge-russets  was  produced  from 
under  one  of  the  seats.  Jule,  somewhat  injudiciously, 
proposed  a  rural  pastime  known  as  "  naming  apples," 
or  "  naming  my  apple  :  "  but  Miss  Kate  quietly  tabled 
the  proposition,  as  likely,  I  suppose,  to  involve  some  un- 
desirable personal  complications ;  at  which  Kit  seemed 
a  good  deal  amused  on  the  sly.  We  all  sat  chatting, 


FOX-HUNTLNG.  95 

listening,  looking  off;  when,  on  a  sudden,  Miss  Kate 
cried,  "  Ah,  ah-^r-r !  See  there  I  What  is  it  ?  Oh  ! 
it's  the  fox  f  " 

We  all  stared  after  her  outstretched  finger. 

Off  fifty  rods,  just  where  the  cleared  slope  of  the 
Hazeldock  Hill  came  down  to  the  woods,  lo !  there 
was  Reynard,  our  Reynard,  trotting  along. 

He  had  just  emerged  from  the  bushes. 

Wash  made  a  grab  for  the  rifle. 

"  Too  far,"  said  Wade  quietly. 

"  Still !  —  let's  watch  him,"  said'  Kit. 

"  He  hasn't  seen  us." 

Miss  Kate  put  up  her  glass. 

"  Oh,  poor  fellow ! "  she  murmured,  watching  him. 
"  His  tongue  is  out  !  —  how  tired  he  is ! "  but  added, 
rather  inconsequentially,  that  the  hounds  were  far  down 
toward  the  pond  yet ;  and  she  was  afraid  they  had  lost 
the  track. 

The  glass  passed  rapidly  from  hand  to  hand.  The 
girls  were  vastly  eager  for  a  critical  glimpse.  We  sat 
quiet.  The  wind  was  west.  The  fox  had  not  seen  us, 
and  could  not  take  the  scent.  He  trotted  nimbly  up 
from  the  bushes  into  the  open  pasture  ;  stopped  for  a 
moment ;  cocked  his  ear  to  listen  for  the  hounds ;  then 
licked  the  snow,  listened  again,  and  scuttled  away  toward 
the  hill. 

"Ah,  isn't  he  cunning/"  exclaimed  Elsie. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  was  out  of  sight  in  one  of  the 
many  hollows  which  furrow  the  side  of  the  great  hill. 

Then  the  cries  of  the  hounds  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
till,  eight  or  ten  minutes  later,  they  burst  out  into  the 


96  FOX-HUNTING. 

pasture,  and  followed  rapidly  on  the  track,  —  first  old 
Jim ;  then  Nance  close  behind ;  and,  lastly,  poor  Ginx, 
four  or  five  rods  in  the  rear. 

"  Now  then  ! "  cried  Mr.  Tom  ;  "  steady  !  "  And  we 
plunged  down  into  the  road  again,  and  whipped  up 
smartly. 

The  road  led  along  the  northern  base  of  the  hill,  but 
took  us  at  no  point  much  nearer  the  summit  than  the 
knoll  we  had  just  left ;  viz.,  about  a  mile  and  a  half. 
As  we  were  halting  at  the  place  where  the  road 
forked  at  a  farmhouse'  just  north-west  of  the  hill,  Wade 
espied  the  fox  again,  coming  round  on  our  side  of  the 
peak,  and  keeping  just  below  the  cap  of  spruce  on  the 
crest  of  it. 

I  judged  him  to  be  two  thousand  meters  from  where 
we  sat.  As  Tom  Edwards  had  predicted,  he  was  "cir- 
cling" the  hill.  The  hounds  were  far  behind,  on  the 
opposite  side. 

By  this  time  it  was  considerably  past  noon.  Kit, 
knew  the  people  at  the  farmhouse,  and  struck  a  bargain 
with  a  very  pleasant  old  lady  for  a  pot  of  coffee,  which 
we  took  in  the  barge  with  our  lunch. 

Meanwhile  the  fox  had  come  round  the  hill  a  second 
time,  followed,  about  five  minutes  later,  by  the  dogs. 
They  were  gaining  a  little. 

After  some  discussion,  it  was  decided  to  try  a  coup 
d'etat  on  him ;  and,  on  his  making  his  appearance  a 
third  time,  Emery  was  started  off  with  the  shot-gun  to 
intercept  him  on  his  fourth  circuit,  and  shoot  him  if 
possible,  or  at  least  head  him  westward,  where  Wash 
or  Kit  might  pop  him  with  the  rifle. 


FOX-HUNTING.  97 

Accordingly,  after  Emery  had  started,  they  two  went 
off  across  the  pasture  to  a  point  about  a  third  of  a  mile 
below,  and  nearer  the  "peak.  Here  they  concealed  them- 
selves in  a  clump  of  low  hemlock.  They  thought  the 
fox,  when  headed,  would  take  down  into  the  valley,  and 
so  across  to  the  next  hill,  in  about  that  line  of  direction. 

It  was  a  good  conjecture.  We  saw  the  fox  turn  the 
base  of  the  peak ;  and,  a  moment  after,  a  wreath  of  white 
smoke  flushed  up  from  behind  the  rock  where  Emery 
had  concealed  himself.  The  fox  instantly  darted  off  on 
a  tangent,  and  ran  almost  direct  for  the  hemlocks. 

"  They're  sure  of  him  !  "  exclaimed  Wade. 

The  girls  fairly  held  their  breaths:  we  all  did,  as  ne 
ran  unsuspectingly  forward.  But,  when  within  forty 
rods,  the  fox  stopped  short  (they  ought  to  have  risked 
a  shot  at  that  very  instant)  ;  sniffed  once ;  then  tacked 
to  the  right  with  the  speed  of  an  arrow,  and  came 
straight  for  the  farmhouse.  In  a  minute  more  he  was 
running  through  the  garden-patch,  not  six  rods  from 
the  house-door ;  and  crossed  the  road  not  fifty  yards  in 
advance  of  the  horses'  heads.  He  saw  us  too,  or  at 
least  the  horses,  but  merely  gave  us  all  the  white  of 
his  wicked  little  eye.  If  we  had  had  one  of  the  guns, 
or  even  a  revolver,  we  might  have  shot  him  like  a  fly. 
He  was  lolling  smartly  as  he  passed ;  and  his  bush  was 
getting  wet.  We  sat  like  statues,  and  watched  him 
breathlessly.  Crossing  the  road,  Pug  slipped  through 
the  rail-fence,  and  legged  it  for  the  alders  which  filled 
the  valley  along  the  brook  beyond  us.  Wash  and  Kit 
came  puffing  up,  adjurating  the  luck.  Tom  Edwards 
sat  and  laughed  :  so  did  the  girls.  By  the  time  the 
7 


98  FOX-IIUNTING. 

boys  had  reached  us,  the  hounds  came  down  at  speed, 
and,  dashing  through  the  garden,  scrabbled  through 
the  fence,  yelping  like  curs  on  the  hot  scent.  A  few 
minutes  after,  Ernery  came  panting  down  across  the 
pasture. 

"In  with  you!"  shouted  Mr.  Tom.  "I  have  it! 
He  will  play  dodge  with  them  a  while  among  those 
alders ;  then  take  to  that  high  ridge  beyond  the  stream, 
unless  we  head  him.  And,  once  he  gets  on  that  ridge 
and  the  hills  beyond,  we've  seen  the  last  of  him,  as  well 
as  the  hounds,  for  to-day.  There's  no  road  leading 
in  there.  We  must  head  him.  We  must  set  a  man 
on  that  ridge,  and  run  him  down  the  stream." 

"  Which,  —  the  fox,  or  the  man  ?  "  queried  Miss  Kate. 

To  this  her  brother  replied  only  by  a  glance  of  utter 
contempt,  and  started  off  at  a  gallop  along  the  west 
fork  of  the  road. 

It  was  not  far  from  a  mile  across  to  the  cleared  ridge 
beyond  the  alder-flat.  We  were  certainly  not  more 
than  three  minutes  crossing  the  interval. 

Emery  was  here  set  down  again  with  the  gun,  and 
instructions  to  follow  down  the  cleared  land  above  the 
alder-flats  as  fast  as  he  could  ;  firing  at  every  thousand 
yards,  or  less,  to  keep  the  fox  off  the  ridge. 

We  could  hear  the  hounds  scouring  the  alder-bottom. 
There  were  thousands  of  acres  of  it.  The  fox  was  at 
hide-and-seek  with  them,  with  plenty  of  room  for  all 
his  arts.  The  horses  "were  turned :  and  we  went  back 
as  quickly  as  we  had  come ;  then  turned  down  the  other 
fork  of  the  road  which  skirted  the  alder-swamp  on  the 
left.  The  report  of  Emery's  gun  came  faintly  across 
the  wide  bottom. 


FOX-HUNTING.  99 

"  Good ! "  exclaimed  Kit.  "  He  won't  leave  the 
alders  with  that  gun  going  up  there ;  and  he  won't  go 
back  to  the  Hazeldock  after  being  fired  at.  They're 
sure  to  work  him  down  the  bottom.  Go  ahead,  Tom ! 

"  You  see,"  he  continued,  "  the  bottom  is  cleared ;  and 
there's  a  great  hay-flat  about  two  miles  below  here. 
If  we  can  get  him  out  on  to  that,  with  the  hounds  close 
behind  him,  there'll  be  sport.  Put  'em  al&ng,  Tom!  " 

It  seemed  to  me  that  Tom  was  putting  them  along 
about  as  fast  as  was  consistent  with  the  safety  of  the 
party.  It  was  descending  ground.  We  gradually  came 
off  opposite  where  the  hounds  were ;  then  passed  on, 
and,  in  an  exceedingly  brief  space  of  time,  sighted  the 
great  cleared  flat,  stretching  out  its  snowy  expanse 
ahead.  There  was,  perhaps,  a  square  mile  of  it,  —  a 
true  meadow-bottom.  The  road  ran  along  the  foot 
of  the  rising  ground  to  the  east  of  it. 

At  the  lower,  or  south-east,  corner  of  this  flat,  young 
Edwards  pulled  up. 

"Now  out,  and  cut  across  the  foot  of  the  flat!" 
exclaimed  Kit.  "  You  hold  the  horses,  Jule !  Can 
you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed  ! "  cried  our  fair  Amazon. 

"  Well,  then,  every  man  out,  and  take  stations  to  head 
him  off!" 

"  But  he  may  cheese  it  out  in  the  rear  of  us,  and  get 
on  to  the  ridges  to  the  east !  "  exclaimed  Tom. 

"  That's  so !  Then,  Wade,  you  put  back  up  the  road, 
and  take  the  rifle;  and  the  rest  of  you  come  on  to 
range  across  the  foot  of  the  meadow." 

Mr.  Graves  looked  as  if  he  would  have  much  pre- 


100  FOX-HUNTING. 

ferred  remaining  in  the  barge ;  but  there  was  no  help 
for  it.  We  all  ran  off  after  Kit  through  the  splashy 
snow;  for  the  warm  afternoon  sun  had  begun  to  melt 
it  considerably. 

A  hundred  rods  from  the  team,  Kit  stationed  Graves 
behind  a  stump,  with  directions  to  keep  quiet,  and  out 
of  sight,  till  the  fox  came  down  to  one  hundred  yards 
of  him  ;  then  up,  aud  yell  just  his  awfullest !  At  about 
an  equal  distance  farther  on,  I  was  ambushed  behind  an 
old  root.  Kit  and  Edwards  ran  on,  and,  jumping  the 
stream,  took  their  positions  beyond. 

We  had  none  too  much  time.  Scarcely  had  Kit  and 
Edwards  got  to  cover,  before  I  saw  the  fox  —  a  mere 
black  speck  —  run  out  of  the  dark  woods-line  across 
the  head  of  the  meadow.  He  followed  the  stream, 
threading  along  the  farther  bank.  He  had  been  in 
sight  perhaps  thirty  seconds,  when  the  hounds  dashed 
out  of  the  bushes,  and  sighted  him  for  the  first  time,  I 
think ;  for  a  perfect  chorus  of  wild  37elps  burst  out. 

The  fox  was  now  running  for  his  life.  The  report  of 
Emery's  gun  from  the  side  of  the  opposite  ridge  startled 
him.  He  jumped  the  brook,  and  struck  off  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  barge.  But,  a  minute  later,  the  glitter  of 
Miss  Kate's  glass,  or  else  the  tinkle  of  the  bells,  turned 
him  across  the  brook  again,  to  the  right ;  and  he  bore 
down  directly  toward  Kit.  He  had  not  discovered  any 
of  us. 

Kit  waited  till  he  had  come  within  fifty  rods;  then 
sprang  up  with  a  loud  shout, —  a  succession  of  shouts. 
The  hounds  were  not  more  than  thirty  rods  behind  now, 
and  were  running  on  sight.  On  the  fox  tacking  to  the 


FOX-HUNTING.  101 

left  when  Kit  sprang  up,  the  dogs  cut  across  diagonally 
for  him.  Tom  Edwajds  now  disclosed  himself;  and  the 
chase  veered  still  more  sharply  to  the  left.  Kit  and  he 
were  hoth  running  on.  Graves  and  I  jumped  out  suc- 
cessively, and  joined  in  the  race  ;  dogs  and  boys  all  run- 
ning on,  hallooing  and  yelping.  Swift-footed  old  Nance 
cut  in  ahead  of  Jim,  and  closed  up  within  ten  rods  of 
the  fox.  The  course  was  now  almost  due  east.  Pug 
was  aiming  for  the  ridges  in  the  rear  of  the  barge. 

Where  was  Wade  with  his  rifle  ?  If  Wade  were  only 
there  !  and  he  ought  to  be  there  somewhere. 

In  my  eager  anxiety  I  tripped  over  a  root  (the 
meadow  was  full  of  them),  and  pitched  headlong  into  a 
hollow  brimming  with  snow  and  water.  Struck  on  my 
hands  —  splash  !  There  was  a  sharp  crack,  a  shout,  a£ 
the  same  instant.  I  jumped  to  my  feet.  The  chase 
was  over  (I  fear  my  own  share  in  it  was  of  very  little 
account).  Wade  had,  from  his  lurking-place  behind  the 
highway  fence,  leisurely  popped  poor  Pug.  The  next 
moment,  the  hounds  were  upon  him  tooth  and  nail. 

Poor  little  wretch!  But  he  had  given  us  a  merry 
chase. 

Mr.  Tom  and  Kit,  running  up,  wrested  his  dabbled 
carcass  from  his  grim  pursuers,  and  bore  it  in  triumph 
down  to  the  barge. 

Ah !  then  and  there  were  exclamations  of  pity,  and 
one  or  two  little,  bright,  regretful  tears,  which  never 
quite  escaped  fair  lashes. 

I  wondered  if  poor  Reyaard  would  have  thought  he 
had  earned  them  too  hardly.  Yet  many  a  human  death 
extorts  smaller  tribute  from  human  pity.  At  any  rate, 
he  must  rest  content  with  what  he  got. 


102  FOX-HUNTING. 

I  am  well  aware,  that,  from  an  English  standpoint,  this 
shooting  of  the  fox  from  out  before  the  hounds,  and 
heading  him  in  the  meadow,  would  be  ranked  as  decid- 
edly unsportsmanlike."  But  some  allowance  in  this  re- 
spect can  fairly  be  claimed  on  account  of  the  unusual 
topographical  difficulties  involved  by  the  chase.  But 
for  this  trick,  we  should  hardly  have  secured  the  fox 
that  day. 

The  sun  was  just  setting  as  we  rejoined  the  girls  with 
our  trophy.  But  we  had  to  wait  for  Emery  to  come 
across  the  flat,  —  rather  over  a  mile.  Twilight  was  fall- 
ing as  we  started  on. 

Kit  judged  that  we  were,  by  road,  about  eight  miles 
from  home. 

"  That  will  take  over  an  hour ! "  sighed  the  Freshman. 

Evidently  it  would ;  for  the  snow,  now  partially 
melted,  exposed  many  of  the  rough  rut-edges  to  our 
runners. 

"  But  nobody  is  to  suppose,"  cried  Kit,  "  that  any- 
body's going  home  yet  a  while." 

"  Not  going  home  ?  "  said  Miss  Kate.  "  No  more 
foxes  to-day,  I  guess  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it ! "  laughed  Kit.  «  We  will  finish 
the  day  more  befittingly.  —  Drive  to  '  Hunt's,'  Tom.  Go 
it,  now!  Here,  let  me  have  that  whip  !" 

"  Hunt's  "  proved  to  be  a  little  two-story  tavern  at  a 
"  corners,"  where  there  were  eight  or  ten  other  houses, 
shops,  &c.,  a  couple  of  miles  farther  down  the  road. 
Every  tiling  was  quiet  about  the  cosey  little  establish- 
ment :  every  thing  had  the  aspect  of  having  been  quiet 
for  an  indefinite  length  of  time.  But  we  drove  up,  fif- 


FOX-HUNTING.  103 

teen  minutes  later,  with  noise  and  racket  sufficient  to 
compensate  the  worthy  publican  for  previous  stagnancy. 
About  a  hundred  yards  above  the  house,  Kit  had  struck 
up  on  the  cornet ;  and  that  had  set  the  hounds  baying 
out  of  pure  sympathy.  Our  noisy  arrival  seemed  to 
sweep  over  the  still  house  like  an  avalanche.  A  ter- 
ribly excited  dog  rushed  out ;  and  there  was  an  instant 
and  stunning  fight  between  him  and  Jim.  Mr.  Tom 
laid  about  them  with  the  long  whip.  The  horses  pranced ; 
and,  in  the  midst  of  this  melee,  a  very  fat  man  pulled 
open  the  door,  winking  astonishedly.  Surprise  seemed 
to  render  a  rather  simple  face  doubly  simple.  Him,  Kit, 
out  of  familiar  disrespect,  addressed  with,  "  Halloo,  Hunt ! 
Help  these  ladies  out,  can't  you  ?  and  then  run  set  your 
old  cold  parlor  afire  !  We've  come  to  make  you  a  visit, 
and  spend  the  evening  with  you.  We  want  dinner,  — 
not  supper,  —  mind  ye,  dinner,  with  beefsteak,  coffee, 
and  things ;  the  best  you've  got.  Never  mind  your 
dog :  mine  will  soon  take  care  of  him  ! " 

By  more  than  ordinary  luck,  so  Kit  seemed  to  think, 
there  was  a  fire  in  the  parlor,  —  an  easy-going  little 
room,  with  cane-bottomed  chairs  galore,  and  a  very  gay- 
colored  wool  carpet.  There  was  a  fire-frame,  with  some 
cosey  mats  basking  in  the  bright  glow. 

The  girls  were  forthwith  ushered  thereinto. 

The  horses,  meanwhile,  were  taken  to  the  stable  to  be 
curried  and  fed;  and,  coming  in,  Kit  effected  a  special 
arrangement  with  friend  Hunt  to  have  our  dinner  laid 
in  the  parlor,  instead  of  the  cheerless  old  den  of  a  din- 
ing-hall. 

A  genial,  enjoyable  half-hour  was  spent  getting  warmed 


104  FOX-HUNTING. 

before  the  cheery  fire-frame;  then  an  extension-table 
was  brought  in,  and  dinner  laid  shortly  after. 

The  meal  was  a  sort  of  combination  of  dinner  and 
supper.  There  were  beefsteak,  cold  fowl,  potatoes,  pic- 
kles, Chili  sauce,  corn-bread,  Graham-bread,  sponge-cake, 
and  mince-pie ;  also  warm  biscuits,  toast,  strawberries 
(preserved),  cookies,  custards,  tarts,  a  pumpkin-pie  (which 
proved  a  rather  tight  fit  for  eleven,  albeit  it  was  a  large 
one),  and  pound-cake,  with  both  coffee  and  tea. 

Hunt  did  the  honest  thing  for  us.  We  were  aston- 
ished at  his  profusion,  —  very  agreeably  so :  for  fox- 
hunting is  an  appetizing  sport ;  and,  since  breakfast,  we 
had  taken  nothing  save  lunch  and  cider. 

I  remember  that  we  sat  down  in  couples,  save  Kit, 
who,  being  the  eleventh,  undertook  to  preside.  Jule, 
who  had  carried  me  successfully  through  the  day  (save 
that  slight  mishap  on  the  meadow,  which  I  am  con- 
vinced would  never  have  befallen  me  had  she  been  at 
hand),  was  now  my  partner  at  dinner.  Wash  had  Miss 
Kate,  Wade  Miss  Elsie,  the  Freshman  lively  Miss  Nell, 
and  our  friend  Tom  the  demure  little  Wealthy. 

A  sense  of  leisure  seemed  to  possess  us.  We  took 
time,  and  doubtless  ate  a  great  deal,  —  for  I  believe  we 
were  over  an  hour  about  it,  —  and,  after  that,  despatched 
Emery  to  one  of  the  shops  for  a  dessert  of  filberts,  choco- 
late-drops, &c. 

I  hardly  know  what  gives  this  tavern-dinner  so  pleas- 
ant a  niche  in  memory,  unless  it  be  the  surprise  which 
came  of  its  unexpected  good  quality.  That,  or  the 
pleasant  company  and  jolly  conversation,  it  must  cer- 
tainly have  been.  Perhaps,  though,  it  was  the  singing; 


FOX-HUNTING.  105 

for  songs  —  songs  of  all  degrees  —  succeeded  the  feast. 
"  Beautiful  Star  "  was  apostrophized  at  length.  "  Beau- 
tiful Dreamer"  was  once  more  invoked,  but  rather 
inaptly  succeeded  by  "  Capt.  Jinks." 

These  preliminary  strains  were  followed,  after  choco- 
late-drops and  humorous  comments,  by  a  selection  from 
the  national  stock  of  war-ballads ;  to  which  Wade 
proudly  contributed  a  counterpart  from  the  war-songs  of 
Dixie.  He  did  it  so  spiritedly,  and  withal  so  tunefully, 
that  he  quite  carried  us  away  with  him.  His  "  I  wish  I 
was  in  Dixie  "  had  so  sad  a  touch,  that  it  cost  Miss 
Kate  a  single  bright  tear,  and  quite  won  the  sympathy 
of  all  the  girls. 

Hunt  came  to  the  open  door,  and  eyed  the  singer,  in  a 
mild  maze. 

Indeed,  Wade  left  us  in  a  highly  sentimental  condi- 
tion ;  and  there  really  was  no  knowing  what  might  have 
followed,  had  not  the  Freshman  come  to  our  rescue  with 
his  store  of  college-songs,  —  the  songs  of  Old  Bowdoin. 

First  he  transported  us 

"  Way  down  on  the  Bigelow  Farm ;  " 
all  the  while  assuring  us, 

"  We  won't  go  there  any  more." 
"  Bigelow,  Bigelow ! — way  down  on  the  Bigelow  Farm." 

Graves  had  a  very  good  voice,  and  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  these  canticles  con  amore.  Both  Wash  and 
Wade  had  heard  them  before,  and  assisted  in  the  singing 
so  far  as  their  acquaintance  went ;  but  the  Freshman 
was  the  life  of  the  performance. 


106  FOX-HUNTING. 

Next  he  sang  those  "  Three  Koguish  Chaps  Together ; " 
of  whom  I  may  briefly  repeat,  that 

"  The  first  he  was  a  weaver  ; 
The  second  he  was  a  miller ; 
The  third  he  was  a  little  tailor, — 
Three  roguish  chaps  together." 

But  they  fell  into  terrible  mishaps,  —  all  because  they 
could  not  sing,  —  and  turned  out  surprisingly  bad  ;  for 

"  The  weaver  got  hung  in  his  yarn  ; 
The  miller  got  drowned  in  his  dam  ; 
And  the  Devil  clapped  his  paw 
On  the  little  tailor 
With  the  broadcloth  under  his  arm." 

The  fate  of  the  latter  so  tickled  the  fleshy  Hunt,  that 
he  precipitately  retired. 

I  think  we  were  all  a  little  surprised  at  the  zeal  with 
which  Mr.  Graves  sang  these  selections.  The  fact  that 
they  were  college-songs,  seemed,  in  his  eyes,  to  quite 
excuse  their  strong  flavor  of  ribalderie.  He  was  thor- 
oughly loyal  to  his  alma  mater. 

Warming  with  his  theme,  the  Freshman  gave  us  next 
a  still  freer  song,  —  in  fact,  a  really  dissipated  song,  — 
which  he  assured  us  was  popular  with  the  sophomores :  — 

"Landlord,  fill  the  flowing  bowl 

Until  it  doth  run  over  ; 
Landlord,  fill  the  flowing  bowl 
Until  it  doth  run  over. 

For  to-night  we'll  merry,  merry  be  ; 

For  to-night  we'll  merry,  merry  be ; 

For  to-night  we'll  merry,  merry  be  ; 

And  to-morrow  we'll  get  sober." 


FOX-HUNTING.  107 

I  sincerely  hope  such  a  chanson  de  Loire  does  not  rep- 
resent the  general  tendency  of  things  at  Old  Bowdoin. 
I  cannot  believe  that  it  does.  But,  be  that  as  it  may, 
the  Freshman  went  on  to  sing,  unblushingly,  that 

"  He  who  goes  to  bed, 
Goes  to  bed  sober, 
Falls  as  the  leaves  do,  — 
Dies  in  October; 

But  he  who  goes  to  bed, 
Goes  to  bed  mellow, 
Lives  a  long,  jolly  life, 
And  dies  an  honest  fellow." 

I  hope  we  had  not  demoralized  him.  It  couldn't  have 
been  the  cider,  —  that  was  sweet:  so  was  the  company. 
To  this  purely  bacchanalian  ode  succeeded  a  classic 
one,  — 

"  Lnuriger  Horatius 
Quern  dixisti  verum 
Fugit  Euro  citius 
Tempus  edax  rerum. 

Dulciore  melle 
EixaB,  pax  et  oscula 
Rubentis  puellae,"  &c. 

Somebody  called  for  a  translation  of  the  chorus. 

Mr.  Graves  facetiously  refused  it. 

I  judge  him  to  have  been  wise.  From  the  little  I 
know  of  Latin,  this  chorus  seemed  a  rather  florid  one. 

Emery  came  in  to  announce  that  the  moon  had  risen. 

Sure  enough,  it  was  nine  o'clock  !  Where  had  the 
evening  gone  to  ?  Vanished  in  song. 


108  FOX-HI7NTINQ. 

The  horses  were  hitched  up.  We  bade  adieu  to  Hunt, 
and  rode  blightly  homeward,  singing  "  Oralie :  "  — 

"  When  the  blackbird  in  the  spring, 

On  the  willow-tree, 
Sat  and  rocked,  I  heard  him  sing,  — 
Singing  Oralie. 
Oralie,  Oralie ! 

Maid  with  golden  hair, 
Sunshine  came  along  with  thee, 
And  swallows  in  the  air. 

In  thy  blush  the  rose  was  born  ; 

Music  when  you  spake  j 
Through  thine  azure  eye  the  blue 
Sparkling  seemed  to  break. 
Oralie,  Oralie ! 

Maid  with  golden  hair, 
Sunshine  came  along  with  thee, 
And  swallows  in  the  air. 

When  the  mistletoe  was  green 

'Neath  the  winter  snows, 
Sunshine  in  thy  face  was  seen 
Kissing  lips  of  rose. 
Oralie,  Oralie ! 

Take  the  golden  ring  : 
Love  and  light  return  with  thee, 
And  swallows  in  the  spring." 

The  piece  has  a  beautiful  tenor,  which  Wade  did  not 
fail  to  render  with  fine  effect. 

We  arrived  in  the  home  neighborhood  at  about  half- 
past  ten,  and  parted  for  the  night  in  a  very  amiable 
mood. 


FOX-HUNTING.  109 

I  am  aware  that  any  critically-disposed  reader  might 
take  occasion  to  remark  that  this  latter  part  of  the  fox- 
chase  has  something  of  the  out-on-a-spree  flavor :  but 
I  heg  to  assure  him  that  it  was  not  in  that  vein  at  all ; 
unless,  perhaps,  exception  he  taken  to  the  Freshman's 
chanson  de  boire.  But  that  must  be  set  down  to  that 
liberal  education  of  which  our  good  people  are  so 
proud. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Trapping  Foxes.  —  The  Fox-Bait,  —  Shooting  Foxes  by  Moon- 
light. —  Cunning  Rogues.  —  Tenderer  Scenes.  —  Miss  Kate's 
Admirer.  —  Where  were  Kit's  Eyes? 

I  PASS  in  brief  review  over  the  events  of  the  next 
few  weeks. 

The  next  Thursday  after  our  Saturday  hunt  was 
Thanksgiving  Day.  School  did  not  keep.  The  fox- 
harge  was  out  during  the  forenoon.  But  a  fe^v  minutes 
after  one,  P.M.,  the  hounds  "holed"  the  fox  at  the  foot 
of  a  crag  three  miles  to  the  north  of  the  neighborhood. 
The  burrow  was  behind  large  rocks.  We  had  to  give 
him  up,  but  found  solace  in  a  big  Thanksgiving  dinner 
at  Kit's. 

That  night  the  fox-hunters  gave  a  ball.  It  was 
what  friend  Wash  calls  a  " one-horse  "  aifair,  however, 
and  hardly  worth  recording.  There  were  but  seventeen 
present.  We  had  only  invited  a  few  friends  of  our  com- 
panions in  the  fox-chase. 

The  Saturday  following,  all  hands  were  out  again  in 
the  barge ;  and  a  fox  was  run  down  handsomely  about 
a  mile  below  Hunt's.  I  may  add,  that  we  again  took 

110 


FOX-HUNTING.  Ill 

dinner  at  the  tavern,  —  a  mere  repetition  of  our  former 
programme.  In  practice  it  would  bear  repetition,  but 
not,  I  fear,  in  description. 

During  the  next  week  we  were  engaged  in  trapping 
foxes  in  the  swamp  over  to  the  west  of  the  farm,  and 
along  the  borders  of  the  forest  above. 

Emery,  by  Kit's  order,  had  slaughtered  the  fox-bait 
one  morning,  much  to  everybody's  relief  connected  with 
the  establishment ;  for  it  was  as  much  as  one's  scalp 
was  worth  to  get  near  the  hole  in  the  side  of  the  pen 
where  the  old  brute  was  kept.  We  had  eleven  traps 
set,  baited  with  horse-flesh  suspended  from  a  branch 
or  bough  directly  over  them.  The  traps  themselves 
were  chained,  and  concealed  under  chaff,  or  bits  of  fir 
and  spruce  boughs.  » 

We  had  but  indifferent  success  with  our  traps,  how- 
ever. Only  five  were  taken  in  them ;  though  the  bait 
was  often  stolen. 

Generally  speaking,  the  red  fox  is  far  too  cunning 
for  this  sort  of  thing.  No  skill  in  setting  the  traps 
can  quite  compete  with  his  sagacity. 

Still  another  stratagem  proved  siiccessful  for  about  a 
week,  but  never  after  that.  It  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing arrangement :  A  quarter  of  the  horse-beef  was 
carried  out  to  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  thrown  down 
on  a  knoll  in  a  conspicuous  position.  A  couple  of  us, 
with  our  guns,  would  then  take  a  buffalo-robe  apiece, 
and  repair,  just  at  dusk,  to  a  thicket  of  firs,  or  a  clump 
of  low  hemlock,  off  twelve  or  fifteen  rods  from  the  bait. 
There,  rolled  up  in  the  buffaloes,  and  hidden  amid  the 
boughs,  we  would  lie  .in  wait  for  them,  taking  care 


112  FOX-HUNTING. 

always  to  lay  our  ambuscade  to  the  leeward  side; 
and  this  was  almost  always  the  southern  side  at  this 
season  of  the  year. 

On  three  successive  nights  a  fox  was  shot  before 
nine  o'clock  (evening)  ;  but,  on  the  fourth  night,  a  fox 
was  fired  at,  and  missed.  Apparently  he  went  and  told 
all  the  other  foxes.  The  next  evening  there  was  a 
great  and  querulous  yapping  at  a  respectful  distance 
all  about  the  lure ;  but  never  a  fox  showed  himself. 

They  seemed  to  be  informing  us  that  the  trick  was 
now  "  too  thin ;  "  in  short,  that  it  was  "  played  out " 
entirely.  We  afterwards  changed  the  position  of  the 
bait,  carrying  it  down  to  the  swamp ;  but  had  no  further 
success. 

Two  foxes  were  also  shot  froin  a  window  in  the  back- 
side of  the  stable  by  getting  up  early,  and  watching 
there  for  a  shot  at  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

At  that  time  they  seemed  to  come  boldly  up  near  the 
out-buildings  after  bones,  chickens'  legs,  &c. 

This  seeming  temerity  was  probably  the  result  of 
their  experience,  that,  at  this  hour  of  the  morning,  there 
was  rarely  any  one  stirring. 

This  fox-hunting  furnished  a  sort  of  background  for 
scenes  and  sentiments  of  a  tenderer  nature.  I  laugh 
now  a  little  grimly  as  I  think  of  it  all.  Wash  was 
by  this  time  fairly  established  as  Miss  Kate's  ad- 
mirer. I  really  could  not  see  that  he  was  any  thing 
more ;  and  at  times  I  had  an  idea  that  the  lady  would 
just  as  lief  have  had  attentions  from  any  of  the  rest  of 
us.  But  Wash  had  a  gayety  of  manner  and  conversa- 
tion that  it  was  not  in  her  nature  to  repel. 


FOX-HUNTING.  113 

After  a  few  gallant  attempts  to  dispute  the  prize  with 
him,  Wade  had  withdrawn  from  the  rivalship,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  fairy  Elsie ;  not  wholly  by  way 
of  passing  the  time,  it  is  to  be  hoped. 

For  my  own  part,  I  was  Jule's  property.  I  felt  as 
if  she  had  a  warranty-deed  of  me,  body  and  soul ;  or  at 
least  a  mortgage,  liable  to  foreclosure  at  any  moment. 
She  was  such  an  energetic  girl,  such  a  consum- 
mate manager,  that  I  was  really  quite  helpless.  But 
it  was  a  very  pleasant  sort  of  bondage :  I  rather 
liked  it. 

Nevertheless,  I  am  not  ashamed  (though  I  perhaps 
need  blush  at  such  perfidy  toward  Jule)  to  confess  that 
I  watched,  or  at  least  observed,  Miss  Kate  rather 
narrowly.  She  puzzled  me  a  good  deal.  She  was  a 
sphinx.  Wash  admired  her  very  much  :  that  was  plain 
enough.  The  Freshman  fairly  grew  green  under  it. 
But  Miss  Kate  did  not  seem  to  feel  it  much.  I  even 
wondered  whether  the  girl  had  any  heart.  (But  that 
is  a  rather  old  query,  I  think.) 

I  had  long  chats  with  her,  on  general  topics  always. 
I  thought  her  the  least  bit  "  strong-minded ; "  but  she 
was  far  too  beautiful  to  permit  of  its  showing. 

If  ever  a  fellow  got  old  enough  to  think  seriously  of 
marrying,  I  had  an  idea  that  Miss  Kate  would  be  just 
the  one  for  a  struggling,  rising  young  Anglo-American 
to  marry,  —  a  tender,  thoughtful,  able  second  in  the 
great  battle  of  life;  one  upon  whose  judgment  he  might 
rely  in  a  crisis,  and  whose  advice  might  temper  and 
beautify  his  noblest  aspirations. 


114  FOX-HUNTING. 

Would  Wash  win  her  ?  I  could  not  unreservedly 
wish  him  success. 

But  where  had  Kit's  eyes  been  all  his  life,  that  he 
took  little  or  no  notice  of  this  pearl  of  the  whole  region  ? 
I  wondered,  too,  at  his  lifelong  stoicism. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

(Latin  in  the  Background.  —  Charades  and  Fair  Charaders.  —  A 
Geographical  Game.  — Wash  and  Mr.  Graves.  —  Wash  spends  an 
Evening  with  Miss  Kate,  and  afterwards  has  a  Little  Confidential 
Chat  with  the  Bed-Post.  —  Wash  talks  of  leaving  Town. — A 
"  Cross  Gray  "  Fox.  —  Miss  Kate  has  a  New  Admirer.  —  Some- 
what of  Mystery. 

I  DOUBT  whether  the  study  of  the  Latin  language 
ever  furnished  pretext  for  more  enjoyable  social 
gatherings  than  those  evening  lessons  in  "  derivatives." 
We  used  to  meet  alternately  at  Kit's,  Miss  Kate's,  and 
the  Wilburs'. 

Once  Jule  entertained  us.  But  the  distance,  as  also 
the  presence  of  two  very  aged  persons,  and  three  or  four 
quite  the  reverse  of  aged,  made  one  or  the  other  of  the 
three  former  places  preferable  for  scholastic  purposes. 

Besides  the  Latin  lesson,  we  fell  naturally  into  a 
variety  of  parlor-games,  commonplace  enough,  but 
rendered  current  coin  for  amusement.  Dull  as  is  a 
charade,  it  may  be  quite  enlivened  by  a  fair  charader. 

I  recollect  a  sort  of  geographical  game  which  was 
very  popular.  It  was  plaj'ed  by  simply  sitting  round 
a  table,  and  each  throwing  into  a  hat  or  basket  a  slip 

115 


116  FOX-HUNTING. 

of  paper  upon  which  was  written  the  name  of  some  city, 
country,  or  province.  These  were  then  shaken  up  ;  when 
we  each,  in  turn,  drew  out  a  slip,  "  without  looking." 
Beginning  with  the  first,  we  had  then,  in  turn,  each  to 
read  the  name  on  his  or  her  slip ;  then  proceed  to  give  the 
location,  boundaries,  climate ;  describe  the  people,  and 
recall  any  peculiarities  we  could.  It  thus  formed  a 
very  pretty  geographical  and  historical  review.  I  re- 
member, among  the  slips  which  fell  to  my  lot,  Muscat, 
Peru,  Wyoming,  Iceland,  Havana,  Mororco,  Naples, 
Athens,  Hudson  Straits,  Reikiavik,  Tucson. 

Of  course,  some  of  us  were  occasionally  "  stuck,"  and 
rather  laconic  in  our  descriptions.  But  there  is  really 
a  deal  of  sport,  as  well  as  information,  to  be  got  out  of 
the  game  by  the  right  sort  of  a  party. 

Three  weeks  passed  in  this  way  very  quietly.  But 
we  did  not  stand  still.  "  Silent  agencies,"  as  the  geolo- 
gists say,  were  at  work.  Wash  was  growing  dreamy 
and  absent-minded ;  bad  symptoms  in  a  young  fellow,  — 
very  bad. 

Mr.  Graves  waxed  gloomy,  and  was  correspondingly 
watchful.  There's  no  sentinel  like  jealousy.  He  and 
Wash  did  not  pretend  to  look  at  each  other  much,  save 
on  the  sly.  They  were  very  polite,  even  gay  with  each 
other.  The  rest  of  us  boys  enjoyed  that.  Kit  was  for- 
ever matching  them  off. 

Wash  and  Tom  Edwards  became  great  friends ; 
though  I  fancied  Tom  was  a  little  surprised  at  the  cir- 
cumstance at  first. 

Soon  after  this  new  alliance,  Wash  began  to  call  at 
the  Edwards's  on  his  own  hook,  independently  of  the  rest 


FOX-HUNTING.  117 

of  us,  —  to  see  Tom,  of  course.  Occasionally,  when  he 
had  escorted  Miss  Kate  home  from  our  evening  gather- 
ings (as  was  his  wont),  he  would  go  in  for  an  hour, 
instead  of  prudently  taking  leave  of  her  at  the  doorstep. 
Of  course  he  would  not  have  gone  in  if  Miss  Kate,  or 
perhaps  Tom,  had  not  invited  him. 

At  length,  he  called  on  a  Sunday  evening :  this  was 
the  third  week  of  their  acquaintance,  I  think.  It  hegan 
to  look  like  business ;  and  it  took  no  great  amount  of 
sagacity  to  predict  a  crisis  not  far  ahead. 

The  next  Sunday  evening,  Wash  called  again.  On 
all  such  occasions  he  made  an  extensive  toilet ;  but  I 
fancied  that  this  last  was  about  the  stunningest  one  yet. 
He  was  very  gay,  —  almost  feverishly  so.  I  had  it  in 
mind  to  give  him  a  word  of  purely  disinterested  advice ; 
but  I  changed  my  mind. 

He  staid  late  :  in  fact,  I  don't  know  just  how  late ; 
for  I  was  asleep  when  he  came  up  to  our  room,  which 
we  occupied  together.  I  scarcely  waked.  He  did  not 
light  the  lamp.  But  I  think  it  must  have  been  con- 
siderably past  midnight.  He  came  to  bed  without 
speaking  to  me.  Perhaps  he  thought  me  as  sound 
asleep  —  as  I  was  five  minutes  later. 

Later  in  the  night  I  was  aroused  by  conversation  in 
the  room.  Those  of  our  readers  who  may  have  read 
the  third  volume  of  this  series  will  perchance  remember, 
that,  under  certain  circumstances,  Wash  is  addicted  to 
noctambulistic  exploits,  —  a  confirmed  jabberer  of  his 
visions.  I  was,  therefore,  not  greatly  surprised  to  find 
Wash  partly  up  in  bed  (though  still  under  the  sceptre 
of  Morpheus),  having  a  little  confidential  chat  with  the 
bed-post. 


118  FOX-HUNTLNG. 

At  such  times,  it  is  my  duty,  as  his  friend,  to  ad- 
minister a  kick,  or  a  good  honest  poke  in  the  ribs,  hard 
enough  to  waken  him ;  at  which  he  always  curls  quietly 
down :  never  hits  back,  nor  remonstrates,  however  faith- 
fully I  may  have  discharged  my  duty. 

According  to  custom,  I  had  doubled  my  knuckles  to 
lend  him  a  "quieter,"  when  a  single  muttered  word  so 
excited  my  curiosity,  that  I  perfidiously  stayed  my  hand, 
and  settled  back  to  listen.  Surely  "a  friend  should  bear 
a  friend's  infirmities." 

"  0-o-o-o-h,  ah-r-r-r !  —  such  a  beautiful  little  white 
fox  !  0-o-o-o-o-h  !  —  such  a  beauty  !  Ah-r-r-r  ! "  quoth 
the  sleeper,  suddenly  jumping  up  to  a  sitting  position. 
"  Ah-r-r-r  !  There  she  goes  !  .  .  .  By  Jude !  If  that 
ain't  Kate  !  "  The  speaker  drew  an  instant  long  breath, 
and  was  silent  for  a  moment ;  then  began  murmuring 
inaudibly,  but  very  earnestly,  in  the  midst  of  which  I 
distinguished  the  words,  "  Please,  Miss  Kate  !  just  a 
moment,  please  !  Such  a  beauty  of  a  white  fox  f  Now, 
Kate  "  (imploringly),  "  let  me  tell  you  !  Oh,  no  !  no- 
iio-no-no-no-no-no !  Don't  say  that,  dear  Kate  !  dearest 
Kate!  'You  won't  hear  a  word?'  That's  too  cruel 
of  you,  Kate  dearest !  Well,  well "  (in  tones  of  de- 
spair). "Forgive  me,  then  "  (a  deep,  deep  sigh).  "Do 
you  really  like  Graves?  'What  made  me  ask  that?' 
Because  the  fellow  admires  you,  of  course.  Well,  he 
does.  I  know  he  does.  Of  course  he  does.  Don't  be 
angry,  Kate.  Excuse  me  !  Pardon  me  ! "  (beseechingly.) 
" '  Forget  it ! '  Ah,  yes  !  "  (very  sarcastically.)  "  It's 
easy  forgetting, — always!  .  .  .  Shake  hands?  .  .  .  Cer- 
tainly j  thank  you  !  .  .  .  Friends  /  .  .  .  Friends  / . . .  Yes. 


FOX-HUNTING.  119 

If  you  can  forgive,  /ought  to ! .  .  . '  Let  it  pass  ? ' .  .  .  Well. 
.  .  .  '  All  a  joke ! '  ,.  .^ .  No  joke  for  me,  Kate.  ...  I 
didn't  say  you  was  to  blame !  ...  Of  course,  you  couldn't 
very  well  tell  me  before.  —  Oh !  what  a  yelping  those 
hounds  make !  By  Jude !  .  .  .  Such  a  beautiful  little 
white  fox  /" 

Then  he  fell  to  muttering  and  puzzling  over  some- 
thing very  hard  and  eagerly  for  some  moments ;  all  of 
which  he  rather  startlingly  concluded  by  exclaiming, 
"  D — n  him ! "  on  a  sudden,  loud  enough  to  be  heard 
'all  over  the  chamber. 

I  thought  he  had  gone  about  far  enough,  and  gave 
him  the  punch,  that,  in  good  faith,  I  ought  to  have  given 
him  some  minutes  before.  He  subsided  as  usual,  and 
lay  submissively  down  again. 

But  I  knew  something  had  happened.  Wash  is  too 
much  of  a  gentleman  to  use  such  a  highly  condemnatory 
adjective  as  the  above  aloud  in  his  waking-hours ;  and 
I  felt  sure  that  some  circumstance  had  afflicted  him 
sorely  to  extort  it  from  him  asleep.  But  it  had  come 
out  with  a  hearty  snap.  Whatever  his  wandering 
fancy  was,  there  was  no  doubt  that  he  had  been  entirely 
sincere  in  the  expression  of  it.  I  lay  a  long  time  think- 
ing it  over. 

Wash  had  very  likely  been  foolish  enough  to  pro- 
pose—  something  —  to  Miss  Kate.  Whether  it  was 
marriage  on  the  spot,  an  elopement,  or  a  ten-year  en- 
gagement, I  was  quite  unable  to  surmise ;  and  may  add, 
that  I  have  never  found  out.  From  his  recent  remarks, 
I  inferred  the  lady's  answer  had  not  been  altogether  to 
his  liking. 


120  FOX-HUNTING. 

While  I  pondered  the  chances  remaining,  I  fell 
asleep  again. 

When  I  woke,  Wash  was  up,  looking  out  the  window 
abstractedly.  He  was  already  dressed.  It  was  just  sun- 
rise. As  I  stirred,  he  turned  with  great  apparent 
gayety. 

"  Splendid  morning !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Kit  just 
knocked  to  say  that  we  must  have  the  dogs  out,  and  be 
off  in  an  hour:  so  'pile  out!'  But  Raed,  seriously, 
don't  you  think  this  fox-hunting  is  getting  about  played 
out  ?  " 

It  had  not  occurred  to  me  in  that  light  yet. 

"  I'm  getting  about  tired  of  it,"  continued  Wash 
off-handedly.  "  Too  much  of  one  thing  is  good  for 
nothing.  I  think  I  shall  go  back  to  town  by  to-morrow 
or  next  day." 

I  expressed  my  great  surprise. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  Wash.  "  Don't  you 
call  it  rather  dull  here  ?  I've  been  feeling  so  for  some 
time.  Of  course,  I  don't  expect  to  take  the  rest  of  you 
witli  me ;  but,  for  my  own  part,  I  think,  on  the  whole, 
that  I've  had  about  all  I  want  of  fox-hunting  for  one 
winter.  As  I  said  before,  '  Too  much  of  one  thing,'  &c. 
You  understand  ;  getting  a  bit  dull,  —  played." 

I  felt  pretty  sure  that  I  understood. 

"  But  I  supposed,  Wash,  that  you  would  be  the  very 
last  one  to  go  back,  or  talk  of  it,"  I  observed,  getting 
up.  "  Why,  Wash,  I  thought  you  were  -too  sweet  on 
a  certain  young  lady  to  think  of  such  a  thing." 

"You  did  really?"  interrupted  Wash,  regarding  me 
keenly  for  a  moment.  "  Possible  that  you  did  ?  " 

I  had  certainly. 


FOX-HUNTING.  121 

Wash  seemed  somewhat  impressed  by  the  fact  that 
I  had. 

"Miss  Edwards  is  a  very  pretty  girl,"  he  said  at 
length.  ."Something  of  that  sort  might  happen,  were 
I  to  be  here  in  her  society  all  winter.  But,  dear  me ! 
what  do  I  want  of  pretty  girls  ?  No  room  for  such 
baggage  on  a  yacht.  Perhaps  that's  one  reason  why 
I  think  I  may  as  well  be  off.  To  tell  you  the  truth, 
Raed,"  he  exclaimed  with  a  burst  of  great  apparent 
vfrankness,  "  that  is  one  reason  why  I'm  going." 

I  was,  nevertheless,  tolerably  confident  that  it  was 
not  the  whole  truth.  But  no  man  is  bound  to  convict 
himself,  I  suppose. 

I  seriously  advised  Wash  to  remain  with  us. 

Not  he. 

We  went  down  to  breakfast. 

Something  was  said  about  Wash  being  out  rather 
late  the  preceding  evening ;  and  this  young  arch-hypo- 
crite modestly  allowed  himself  to  blush,  and  seem  very 
much  confused.  But  I  could  see  that  it  all  cost  him  a 
pang.  I  suppose  he  thought  that  almost  any  thing 
was  better  than  the  grim  truth  of  the  matter. 

By  way  of  carrying  it  all  off,  he  began  joking  immod- 
erately with  Miss  Nell.  I  think  he  contrived  to  give 
almost  everybody  the  impression  that  he  was  in  high 
spirits.  But,  happening  to  look  at  Kit,  I  caught  him 
surveying  Wash  with  attentive  eye. 

The  Freshman  was  not  only  gloomy,  but  acrid. 
Very  likely  it  hadn't  improved  his  dreams  to  hear 
Wash  come  in  from  a  call  on  Miss  Edwards  at  one  in 
the  morning.  Oh,  how  young  Love  does  pester  young 
fellows ! 


122  FOX-HUNTING. 

That  day  we  four  fellows  chased  a  "  cross  gray  "  fox, 
following  the  hounds  on  horseback  along  the  roads.  It 
was  finally  shot  on  the  farther  side  of  the  Hazeldock 
Hill,  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  —  shot  from 
before  the  hounds. 

We  then  rode  down  to  Hunt's  to  dinner. 

At  table,  Wash  let  out  that  he  thought  of  going  to 
town  next  morning.  Wade  was  unfeignedly  surprised  : 
he  stared. 

Kit  also  professed  astonishment,  and  regarded  Wash 
uneasily.  He  was  very  sorry,  he  said.  He  hoped  noth- 
ing had  been  done  or  said  to  offend  him. 

Wash  warmly  disclaimed  any  thing  of  the  sort ;  and 
then  pleaded  ennui,  and  an  ardent  desire  to  hear  Nilsson 
(then  in  town). 

I  resolved  to  put  him  on  his  mettle.  "  Wash,"  said 
I,  "  if  you  sneak  off  in  this  way,  we  shall  all  think  that 
you  have  either  tired  of  Miss  Kate,  or  that  she  has 
tired  of  you;  and  most  likely  the  latter." 

"  Nonsense !  "  protested  Wash,  reddening. 

"  That  we  shall !  "  cried  Wade  ;  and  I  noticed,  too, 
that  a  queer  light  had  already  broke  in  his  dark,  eager 
eye. 

Kit  looked  wondrously  uneasy.  Finally  he  said, 
"  Come,  come,  Wash,  don't  go !  Don't  leave  Miss  Kate 
to  the  Freshman,  like  this.  'Twould  look  cowardly. 
I  bind  you  not  to  go  !  " 

But  Wash  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 

"  Leave  her  to  the  Freshman  ! "  quoth  he.  "  Why, 
man  alive,  I  know  nothing  of  Miss  Kate's  likes  and 
dislikes  —  in  that  way.  I've  enjoyed  Miss  Edwards's 


FOX-HUNTING.  123 

society  very  much.  But  you  all  ought  to  know  that 
my  intentions  don't  reach  so  far  as  you  intimate.  Good 
heavens  !  can't  a  fellow  escort  a  young  lady  home  from 
an  evening  gathering  without  such  a  construction  being 
put  upon  it  ?  But,  if  you  have  been  attributing  such 
designs  to  me,  I  see  that  I  owe  it  to  the  lady  to  be  less 
attentive  in  the  future.  Indeed,  I  begin  to  fear  that 
I  owe  you  all  an  apology  for  monopolizing  her  so 
much." 

Now,  if  that  was  not  shrewdly  said  to  cover  Miss 
Kate's  breaking  off  with  him,  then  I  am  mistaken. 
I  was  filled  with  admiration  of  the  fellow.  Here  was 
tact,  as  well  as  "  cheek." 

I  don't  know  whether  or  not  Kit  understood :  per- 
haps he  did.  I  know  I  should  not  have  done  so  but 
for  the  nocturnal  revelation  I  had  received  ;  and  I  am 
very  sure  "Wade  did  not.  Said  he,  "Much  obliged, 
Wash.  I  accept  the  apology.  Shall  be  glad  to  take 
your  place  there  occasionally." 

"  Take  it,  and  welcome,"  said  Wash.  "  I  wish  you 
joy  of  it." 

But  I  saw  his  fingers  clinch  whitely  under  the  table 
as  he  -said  so. 

Generally  speaking,  the  most  of  young  fellows  pay 
a  pretty  sharp  price  for  their  love-affairs,  —  the  first  two 
or  three,  at  any  rate. 

That  evening  we  met  at  the  Wilburs'.  Wash  and 
Miss  Kate  greeted  each  other  very  much  as  usual;  but 
he  turned  away  to  sit  by  Miss  Nell.  Wade  immediately 
slipped  into  the  vacancy  thus  made,  and  devoted  him- 
self. 


124  FOX-HUNTING. 

Later  in  the  evening,  I  saw  Miss  Kate  glance  once 
guardedly  toward  Wash ;  and  there  was  a  wistful, 
almost  pained  look  in  her  eye,  which  puzzled  me  a 
good  deal. 

Wash  was  seemingly  enjoying  himself  with  his  lively 
companion. 

But  I  thought  he  looked  older  next  morning. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Wash  defers  hearing  Nilsson.  —  Wade  shines. —  Wash  presumes 
to  give  him  a  Word  of  Advice,  which  is  not  well  received.  — 
Kit  gives  an  Opinion.  —  Jule.  —  What  "  Granny  "  Sylvester 
thought  of  it  as  reported  by  the  "Ten-year-old."  —  The 
Usual  Reward  doubled.  —  A  "  Martyr  in  a  Good  Cause." 

~TT"T"ASH  did  not  return  to  the  city  that  next  day, 

V  V      nor  the  next. 

What  I  had  said  at  Hunt's  to  him  before  the  others 
had  pricked  his  pride,  no  doubt;  and,  on  thinking  the 
matter  over,  I  suppose  he  found  nothing  to  reproach 
himself  with. 

Surely  it's  no  disgrace  to  admire  beauty ;  at  least,  it's 
a  much  greater  disgrace  not  to  admire  it.  Very  wisely, 
as  I  think,  he  resolved  to  face  the  music,  and  brave  it 
out.  Cowards  alone  run  from  any  thing. 

On  the  Tuesday  night  following,  we  were  at  the 
Edwards's.  "Wade  shone  —  like  a  sapphire  !  These 
Southern  fellows  can  fairly  scintillate  of  an  evening, 
when  they  feel  like  it.  From  the  way  the  affair  had 
turned,  I  suspect  he  had  got  the  idea  that  Miss  Kate 
had  all  along  preferred  him  to  Wash ;  and  he  naturally 

125 


126  FOX-HUNTING. 

felt  elated  thereat.  But  Wash  evidently  bore  him  no 
malice.  They  came  home  together ;  and,  as  they  went 
up  stairs,  I  incidentally  overheard,  from  the  hall  below, 
as  follows :  — 

Said  Wash,  " Had  a  good  time?" 

"Splendid!"  says  Wade.  "Miss  Kate  is  just  glo- 
rious ! "  (This  last  a  little  maliciously,  I  fancied  j  but 
Wash  magnanimously  swallowed  it.) 

"  Wade,"  said  he,  "  take  a  fool's  advice,  for  once : 
don't  go  too  near" 

"  Oho  !  "  laughed  Wade.  "  I  think  I'll  go  as  near 
as  I  can." 

The  foolish  fellow  actually  distrusted  the  best  and 
most  disinterested  piece  of  advice  that  could  possibly 
have  been  given  him. 

"  All  right ! "  says  Wash  in  quite  a  different  voice. 
"Go  ahead!" 

Kit  called  me  back  into  the  sitting-room ;  and  we  sat 
talking  till  near  midnight.  Just  as  we  were  going  to 
bed,  he  said,  "  You  don't  suppose  Wash  and  Wade  really 
mean  any  thing  serious  down  along,  do  you,  Kaed  ?  " 

"  Can't  tell,"  said  I. 

Kit  was  silent  for  some  moments. 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  he  at  length. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  I  asked,  feeling  a  little  curious. 

"Why  not?"  he  repeated,  turning  with  a  sharp 
glance.  "Any  thing  of  that  sort  might  seriously  in- 
terfere with  our  plans.  I  should  much  regret  it  —  on 
all  accounts." 

I  could  but  feel  that  he  was  right.  But  this  was  a 
consideration  which  kept  continually  slipping  out  of 
sight  that  winter. 


FOX-HUNTING.  127 

But,  though  taking  a,  kindly  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  my  comrades,  I  must  needs  say  that  I  had  a  job  of 
my  own.  Jule  was  one  of  our  party,  and  attended 
nightly,  wind  and  weather  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. She  declared  that  the  distance  (one  mile)  was 
"  nothing."  And  I  suppose,  that,  as  she  said  it  was  noth- 
ing, it  was;  though  I  used  sometimes  to  suspect  that 
we  had  hit  upon  a  new  definition  of  the  word. 

The  ten-year-old  never  now  made  his  appearance. 
And  having  once  been  Jule's  escort  homeward,  and  thus 
got  my  hand  in,  not/liny  else  that  I  could  possibly 
conceive  of  would  answer.  As  a  consequence,  I  retain 
in  memory  an  indelible  recollection  of  those  hoary  old 
crags  as  seen  by  the  dim  light  of  the  inferior  heavenly 
bodies.  Were  I,  by  any  strange  aeronautic  chance,  to 
drop  down  there  out  of  a  balloon  at  midnight,  I  think 
I  should  at  once  recognize  the  locality,  and  instinctively 
wend  my  way  up  to  the  piazza-steps. 

But  I  confess  the  task  was  not  an  unpleasant  one.  I 
always  had  my  reward  —  liberally  bestowed. 

The  only  question  which  puzzled  me  was,  How  much 
of  the  earth's  periphery  can  a  young  fellow  afford  to 
traverse  per  noctem  for  a  kiss,  with  perhaps  a  repetition 
of  the  same,  occasionally,  to  boot  ? 

I  am  aware  that  it  is  of  that  class  of  problems  involv- 
ing "  two  or  more  unknown  quantities : "  still  I  respect- 
fully submit  it  to  any  sympathetic  reader;  merely 
remarking,  that  I  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  it. 

My  going  home  with  Jule  was  a  standing  joke  with 
Kit,  —  one  that  acquired  flavor  with  each  repetition 
apparently. 


128  FOX-HUNTING. 

Worse  still,  Miss  Kate  and  Miss  Nell  got  to  enjoying 
it ;  and,  among  them,  they  at  length  fixed  me  up  a 
reputation  as  a  sort  of  martyr  in  a  good  cause.  If 
anybody  can  stand  that  with  equanimity,  he  is  a  greater 
saint  than  his  humble  servant  the  writer  of  this  poor 
paragraph. 

To  cap  the  climax,  my  regular  arrivals  at  the  piazza- 
steps  at  from  ten  to  eleven  began  to  be  regarded  with 
suspicion  by  some  of  the  older  members  of  the  family. 
I  had  not  seen  so  much  as  a  hair  of  the  ten-year-old 
for  more  than  a  fortnight;  in  fact,  I  had  begun  to 
sparingly  indulge  the  hope  that  he  had,  like  an  un- 
timely bud,  been  gathered  in  all  his  juvenile  innocence 
to  "  a  holier  and  happier  sphere."  But  nothing  of  the 
sort  had  happened.  I  think  it  was  a  Friday  night  that 
we  found  him  on  the  piazza,  swinging  round  a  post.  lie 
had  been  silently,  and  without  doubt  philosophically,  ob- 
serving our  approaching  steps. 

On  espying  him,  Jule  had  (with  that  wise  penetration 
peculiar  to  older  sisters)  bidden  him  begone ;  but  em- 
boldened, perhaps,  by  my  ire-restraining  presence,  he  as 
laconically  declined. 

"  You  start !  "  repeated  Jule. 

"  Won't !  "  said  he,  taking  an  impudent  bite  from  a 
wormy  "  Baldwin." 

Jule  gave  him  a  glance  that  smacked  of  the  wrath 
to  come. 

But  the  urchin  had  a  mission  that  night.  He  con- 
tinued to  gaze  steadfastly  into  my  face. 

"Halloo,  Mr.  Kaed/ieat?/"  said  he  after  a  critical 
ocular  inspection. 


FOX-HUNTING.  129 

"Good-evening,  sir!"  I  said  in  propitiatory  accents; 
Jule  meanwhile  regarding  him  helplessly. 

"  Know  what  granny  says  about  you,  mister  ? "  he 
demanded,  swinging  round  to  look  from  the  outer  side 
of  the  post. 

I  silently  ignored  any  curiosity  on  that  score ;  and 
Jule  made  a  quick  movement.  But  he  roared  out,  with 
his  mouth  full  of  apple,  "  She  says  you're  either  a  bad 
un,  or  a  fule  to  keep  com  "  — 

He  never  got  any  farther  with  it ;  indeed,  the  last 
clause  was  half  yelp.  Jule  had  taken  two  steps,  and 
"  nailed "  him.  He  kicked  and  dug ;  but  her  athletic 
white  hand  held  him  without  any  perceptible  difficulty, 
and  brought  him  back  with  her. 

"  Good-night,"  she  said ;  then  laughed  a  note,  and 
added,  "  Never  mind  what  you  hear,  please." 

I  said  "  Good-night "  and  "No*"  and  took  myself  off, 
not  wishing  to  delay  merited  vengeance. 

But,  in  my  haste,  I  fell  into  a  stone-hole  a  few  rods 
below,  and  broke  a  very  important  connective  of  my 
apparel.  And  presently,  as  I  was  re-organizing,  a  couple 
of  sharp  slaps  resounded  cheerily,  followed  by  a  howl 
of  anguish  ;  then  another  couple,  —  on  the  other  side,  I 
took  it,  —  with  concomitants  afresh. 

"  Never  show  yourself  on  this  piazza  again,"  said  a 
low,  stern  voice,  succeeded  by  more  slaps.  Then  a  door 
slammed ;  and  fresh  voices  chimed  in. 

I  got  up,  and  fled. 

How  the  "  balance  of  power"  stood  in  that  house  an 
hour  later,  I  could  only  conjecture ;  and  I  awaited  Jule's 
9 


130  FOX-HUNTING. 

appearance  the  next  evening  with  some  curiosity,  not 
to  say  anxiety. 

She  came.  There  was  certainly  nothing  in  her  man- 
ner to  indicate  that  any  thing  unusual  had  happened 
over  night ;  but  I  noticed  a  red  scratch  on  the  back  of 
her  right  hand. 

That  night  it  was  very  cloudy  and  dark  ;  and  it  was, 
perhaps,  in  consideration  of  this  fact,  that  the  usual 
reward  was  doubled.  But  either  this  circumstance,  or 
the  darkness,  so  confused  me,  that  I  got  lost  among  the 
crags,  and  came  near  being  drowned  in  the  brook,  now 
swollen  to  a  torrent. 

It  was  after  eleven  before  I  got  to  cover,  only  to  be 
met  by  respectful  inquiries  from  Kit  and  Miss  Nell  as 
to  the  state  of  old  Granny  Sylvester's  health.  Nobody 
would  believe  that  I  had  not  been  passing  a  supremely 
happy  hour  with  the  "  old  folks." 

These  are  but  the  merest  outlines  of  the  hardships 
which  beset  my  luckless  attentions  to  Jule:  luckless, 
I  say  ;  for  I  shortly  after  fell  from  her  good  graces,  — 
fell  irrevocably. 

Yet,  if  there  is  any  thing  I  admire,  it's  an  older 
sister  who  keeps  these  ten-year-olds  under. 


CHAPTER  XL 

A  Thaw.  —  Coasting.  —  Downing  Hill.  —  Some  Description  of 
the  same.  —  Four  Hundred  Feet  through  Space.  —  Nervous. — 
Mr.  Graves  very  Nervous.  —  The  Old  Pung.  —  Wilkins's  Bend. 
—  Some  fearfully  Rapid  Coasting. 

ABOUT  the  19th  of  December,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
now  recollect,  there  was  rain  for  several  days,  — 
an  unusual  circumstance  at  this  season  of  the  year  so 
far  north.  But  the  "thaw"  terminated  sharply  in  a 
"  cold  snap,"  which  laid  a  strong  crust  over  the  snow, 
and  left  the  roads  one  glare  of  ice. 

A  rather  desolate  prospect,  so  far  as  fox-hunting  was 
concerned,  I  thought.  But  Kit  opened  a  new  vein  of 
amusement,  —  a  very  exciting  one. 

"  Hurrah  !  "  he  shouted.  "  Now  for  some  crack  coast- 
ing ! "  And,  during  the  whole  of  the  day,  he  and  young 
Edwards  were  busy  getting  their  sleds  and  old  pung 
ready  for  evening. 

Wash  and  I  amused  ourselves  by  coasting  from  the 
pasture  hill  down  upon  the  pond.  There  was  a  descent 
of  forty  feet  or  upwards,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
length.  It  offered  very  fair  sport :  so  we  thought.  But 

131 


132  FOX-HUNTING. 

our  coasting- feats  had,  until  then,  been  confined  mostly 
to  the  Common  at  home  (Boston). 

Kit  merely  laughed  at  us  for  "fooling"  out  there  in 
the  pasture. 

"  Wait  till  evening,"  said  he,  "  and  we  will  show  you 
how  it's  done." 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word. 

Directly  after  supper,  the  fox-barge  was  harnessed ; 
and  all  hands  set  off  for  Downing  Hill,  taking  the  old 
pung  and  hand-sleds  in  tow. 

By  all  hands  I  am  meant  to  include  the  young  ladies 
of  course. 

Downing  Hill,  considered  as  coasting-ground,  cer- 
tainly merits  full  description.  It  was  not  a  single  hill 
exactly,  but  a  succession  of  hills  (five  in  all),  the  first  of 
which  began  a  hundred  rods  or  more  beyond  the  Syl- 
vesters'. At  the  top  of  the  first  there  was  a  level,  or 
rather  moderately  ascending  grade  of,  perhaps,  fifty 
yards,  to  where  the  second  steep  hill  began ;  and  so  on, 
up,  up,  up  to  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  —  the  same  ridge, 
which,  a  mile  farther  north,  formed  the  craggy  "  Hedge- 
hog Hill,"  about  which  we  had  chased  our  first  fox. 
The  whole  distance  from  top  to  bottom  was  about  a 
mile  ;  the  perpendicular  height  (according  to  a  trigono- 
metrical calculation  which  I  made  next  day),  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one  feet. 

The  surveyor  who  laid  out  the  highway  over  that 
ridge,  up  those  steep  inclines,  must  have  been  a  singu- 
larly fearless  and  aspiring  genius. 

Up  the  first  two  hills  the  road  ran  in  a  nearly 
straight  line ;  but,  just  beyond  the  crest  of  the  second, 


FOX-HUNTING.  133 

there  was  a  light  curve  of  perhaps  twenty  degrees  to 
north-west.  Thence  the  course  was  direct,  as  before,  to 
the  very  summit. 

Starting  from  the  top,  then,  the  track  led  down  the 
first  three  pitches  east,  twenty  degrees  south  ;  then  due 
east  down  the  last  two.  The  road  was  enclosed  on 
both  sides,  —  partly  by  stone  wall,  partly  by  rail  fence. 

At  the  foot  of  the  lowermost  pitch  there  was  a  flat 
of  about  seven  hundred  yards'  width,  on  the  farther  side 
of  which  was  a  sharp  ascent  of  thirty  feet  (for  a  guess), 
which  then  continued  on,  at  a  less  incline,  up  to  the  Syl- 
vester yard. 

This  seven-hundred-yard  flat,  with  the  thirty-foot  hill 
at  the  end,  was  the  "  home-stretch,"  along  which  the 
fearful  velocity  acquired  on  the  mile  of  descent  might 
gradually  expend  itself,  and  be  stayed. 

As  a  precautionary  measure,  ashes  were  sometimes 
strewn  on  the  thirty-foot  hill  to  act  as  a  sort  of  brake 
at  the  end  of  the  flat. 

Local  tradition  says  that  the  first  youth  to  whose 
adventurous  mind  the  project  of  "  running "  Downing 
Hill  occurred  was  appalled  at  his  own  hardihood. 

I  can  well  credit  it.  If  he  had  any  thing  like  the 
ordinary  human  bump  of  prudence  on  his  cranium,  I 
should  suppose  he  would  have  been.  But  that  was 
seventy  years  ago. 

At  first,  as  I  imagine,  he  only  ventured  to  slide  from 
the  top  of  the  first  of  the  five  hills ;  then,  after  a  time, 
from  the  top  of  the  second.  It  must  have  been  a  long 
time  before  he  ventured  to  launch  from  the  third  hill, 
and  take  the  chances  of  successfully  rounding  the  curve 


134  FOX-HUNTING. 

at  the  top  of  the  second.  But  eventually  —  not  in  one 
winter,  I  will  wager  —  he  seems  to  have  reached  the  dizzy 
top  of  the  ridge,  and,  thrusting  aside  all  regard  for  the 
great  law  of  gravitation,  to  have  taken  the  whole  four 
hundred  feet  at  one  reckless  plunge. 

Thus  do  male  heings  grow  in  valor,  and  criminals  in 
crime. 

It  may  even  he  that  this  final  exploit  was  not  the 
achievement  of  a  single  generation.  On  reflection,  how- 
ever, I  incline  to  believe  that  it  was.  The  first  settlers 
here  were  all  live  Yankees ;  and  anybody  who  rightly 
appreciates  Yankee  character  must  know  that  no 
Yankee  youth,  having  once  slidden  from  the  first  pitch, 
would  ingloriously  die  (unless  he  died  on  the  hill)  with- 
out reaching  the  top. 

The  feat  became  hereditary.  This  man's  sons  took  to 
it  more  readily,  no  doubt ;  and  his  grandsons  accepted 
it  as  a  matter  of  course. 

But  I  was  not  surprised  to  learn  that  the  hill  had 
been  the  scene  of  several  serious  accidents,  one  of  which 
proved  fatal :  indeed,  my  only  wonder  was  not  to  see 
the  ditches  full  of  skulls. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  curve  above  alluded  to  was 
the  most  dangerous  point  adown  the  course.  The  boys 
called  it  "Wilkins's  Bend,"  from  an  old  gentleman  who 
lived  on  the  level  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  a  few 
rods  above  the  curve.  The  road  here  bent  round  the 
foot  of  a  gravel  knoll,  which  had  been  partially  cut  away, 
leaving  a  high  bank  on  the  upper  side.  But,  on  the 
lower  or  outer  side  of  the  curve,  the  bank  sloped  down 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  to  the  rail  fence ;  and  a  very 


FOX-HUNTING.  135 

unsteady,  drunken-looking  old  fence  it  was.  Thence 
the  ground  sloped  off  to  the  bed  of  a  gully  eight  or  ten 
rods  to  the  south  of  the  fence.  The  points  of  the  posts 
and  stakes,  sticking  up  invitingly  over  the  bank,  in  no 
way  added  to  the  charms  of  the  bend,  nor  yet  enhanced 
the  pleasures  of  the  prospect  while  nearing  it  at  a  high 
rate  of  speed.  I  speak  advisedly ;  for  I  have  particularly 
good  reason  to  remember  Wilkins's  Bend. 

As  a  coasting-ground,  I  do  not  believe  Downing  Hill 
can  be  matched  in  New  England.  Nature  has  here 
provided  facilities  for  this  sport  on  a  gigantic  scale, 
What  had  seemed  a  tame  enough  amusement  on  the 
Common  became  here  a  thrilling  and  wildly  fasci- 
nating vault  through  space,  —  a  veritable  todten  tantz, 
where  Death  was  only  held  aloof  by  the  skill  of  a  single 
practised  arm. 

On  arriving  at  the  Sylvesters',  the  horses  were  put  up, 
save  one,  which  was  harnessed  into  the  pung,  to  drag  it, 
together  with  the  sleds,  to  the  top  of  the  ridge.  Jule 
joined  us.  The  ten-year-old  was  hired,  for  a  small  con- 
sideration in  fractional  currency,  to  stand  out  on  the 
piazza,  and  stop  all  teams  from  passing  up  till  we  should 
come  down. 

Tom  Edwards,  meanwhile,  was  strewing  the  thirty- 
foot  hill  with  ashes,  a  pailful  of  which  he  had  procured 
in-doors.  This  done,  he  started  on  with  the  pung  and 
sleds ;  and  the  rest  of  us  followed  afoot  across  the  long 
flat,  and  up  the  longer  hill,  —  a  merry  party,  invigorated 
by  the  keen  air. 

It  must  be  understood  that  none  of  us  boys,  save  Kit 
and  Tom  Edwards,  had  ever  been  on  this  hill  before ; 
nor  had  Mr.  Graves  ever  slidden  here. 


136  FOX-HUNTING. 

On  reaching  the  top  of  the  first  pitch,  we  four  drew 
up,  supposing  that  the  coasting  was  to  start  here. 

"  Come  on,  come  on ! "  cried  Kit,  who  was  ahead. 
"  Tom's  half  way  up  the  second  pitch  now." 

I  think  that  even  then  a  slight  feeling  of  uneasiness 
crept  over  us ;  but  we  were  too  busy  talking  with  the 
girls  to  give  it  weight,  and  went  on  up  the  second  pitch. 

Here  Mr.  Graves  wanted  to  know  whether  they  were 
going  up  any  farther ;  and  I  saw  Wash  and  Wade  turn 
to  cast  timorous  glances  down  the  long  icy  incline. 
But  Kit  was  already  round  Wilkins's  Bend,  and  out 
of  hearing. 

Miss  Kate  said  she  presumed  the  boys  were  going 
to  the  top  of  the  ridge:  they  usually  did. 

"  But  it  is  a  long,  and,  as  I  often  think,  very  perilous 
slide,"  she  added.  "It  always  frightens  me." 

"  Then  let's  not  go  up ! "  exclaimed  Graves,  with  an 
uneasy  stare  at  the  loftj'-  crests  ahead. 

"  I  guess  we  had  better  go  up  this  time,"  replied  Miss 
Kate  calmly.  "  The  boys  are  ahead  ;  and  they  will  expect 
us." 

Of  course,  none  of  us  presumed  to  remonstrate ;  nor 
did  Mr.  Graves  venture  to  appeal  from  a  decision  so 
quietly  given. 

"  Why,  it's  just  splendid,  Mr.  Graves  ! "  cried  Jule. 
"  The  sleds  do  just  fly  !  You've  no  idea  how  we  shall 
come  down  here  ! " 

Mr.  Graves  looked  as  if  he  had  an  idea,  and  that  it 
wasn't  a  pleasant  one. 

Miss  Elsie  was  ahead  with  Kit :  so  was  Miss  Georgie 
and  Wealthy.  Wash  was  walking  behind  with  Miss 


FOX-HTJNTING.  137 

Nell;  Wade  with  Miss  Kate.  Jule  was  giving  me  a 
graphic  account  of  the  hair-breadth  perils  which  former 
coasters  here  had  eluded,  —  by  the  merest  chance,  it 
seemed  to  me ;  and  I  must  say,  that  I  was  more  terri- 
fied than  amused  by  it  all. 

The  fact  was,  all  these  merry  young  people  were  used 
to  the  hill  from  childhood :  we  were  not ;  and,  for  that 
very  reason,  we  kept  quiet. 

But,  up  the  last  two  pitches,  conversation  died  out 
quite  on  our  part ;  for,  to  tell  the  truth,  we  were  getting 
mighty  uneasy. 

Kit  and  the  rest  had  arrived  at  the  top  before  us. 
They  had  taken  out"  the  horse,  and  were  arranging  the 
sleds  in  line.  There  were  several  other  young  fellows  — 
strangers  to  me  —  with  their  sleds. 

As  we  gained  the  summit,  the  moon  was  just  coming 
up,  amid  dark  clouds,  over  the  far  eastward  ridges.  It 
was  a  fine,  wild  winter-scene.  The  moonlight  shone 
on  the  bright  white  snow-crust  in  a  gleaming  line,  run- 
ning far  off  under  the  silver  orb,  and  was  reflected  from 
the  darker  line  of  rough  ice  which  marked  the  road  up 
which  we  had  toiled. 

But  what  a  gulf!  The  great,  white  flat  seemed 
almost  at  our  feet;  and  yet  it  was  a  mile  away.  Were 
these  rash  boys  going  to  precipitate  us  into  this  wildly 
glittering  abyss  ?  For  a  moment,  I  fancied  they  must 
have  taken  leave  of  their  senses.  It  looked  suicidal. 

"Now,  girls,  let  me  help  you  into  the  pung  here!" 
cried  Kit. 

"  But  really,  Kit ! "  I  began  to  remonstrate. 

"  Mr.  Kaed's   a  little   scared ! "  laughed   Jule ;    and 


138  FOX-HUNTING. 

there  was  a  silvery  peal  from  several  of  the  young 
ladies. 

That  stopped,  my  mouth.  "Go  it,"  thought  I,  "and 
I'll  go'  with  you !  But,  if  we  do  bring  up  on  that  flat 
alive,  I'll  give  all  my  second-best  clothes  to  the  poor, 
and  contribute  twenty-five  dollars  towards  the  'city 
soup.'" 

I  noticed  that  Wash  had  lost  much  of  his  usual  volu- 
bility, and  Wade  had  grown  very  quiet. 

Kit  was  hurrying  the  girls  into  the  pung.  He  had 
taken  the  seats  out,  but  had  filled  the  bottom  of  it  with 
buffalo-robes  to  make  it  cosey. 

"Just  room  for  the  six  of  you,"  he  said.  "Now,  all 
snuggle  down,  and  cling  together.  —  A  regular  bird's- 
nest  pudding  of  them!"  he  exclaimed,  turning  laugh- 
ingly to  the  rest  of  us. 

In  truth,  it  was  a  pretty  sight,  those  six  girl-faces 
just  showing  over  the  sides  of  the  high,  old  pung, — a 
nest  of  bright  eyes,  red  lips,  and  curling  hair.  But 
much  of  the  pleasure  of  this  picture  was  lost  in  a 
shudder  at  the  peril  to  which  they  were  instantly  to  be 
exposed. 

Kit's  long  coasting-sled,  "Dexter,"  was  placed  in 
front  of  the  pung,  and  the  thills  laid  along  the  top  of 
it,  and  lashed  firmly  with  a  broad  strap.  The  other 
sleds,  to  the  number  of  five  or  six,  were  then  hitched  on, 
one  behind  the  other,  in  the  rear  of  the  pung.  A  sort 
of  train  was  thus  made  up,  of  which  Kit's  sled  was  to 
be  the  locomotive ;  for  he  was  to  go  stomach  down  on 
his  own,  between  the  pung-thills,  and  steer  the  whole 
thing.  Here  were  six  sleds,  besides  the  great  pungful 


FOX-HUNTING.  139 

of  girls,  behind  him,  ready  to  take  a  leap  of  four  hun- 
dred feet !  It  made  my  blood  run  chill  to  think  of  it. 
What  if  he  should  run  out  ?  Instant  destruction  for 
the  whole  party,  himself  first  of  all ! 

I  still  think  it  a  foolhardy  exploit.  It  was  staking 
too  much  on  the  instant  exercise  of  one  fellow's  skill. 
Custom  often  makes  people  thus  over-bold. 

"Why,  I've  run  this  hill  hundreds  of  times!  "was 
Kit's  only  reply  to  my  respectful  remonstrance. 

But  Graves  was  openly  protesting.  He  even  went 
so  far  as  to  urge,  nay,  almost  order,  the  girls  out  of  the 
pung,  —  in  his  capacity  as  teacher,  I  suppose.  But  they 
declined  to  comply.  Perhaps  they  thought  that  in  this 
he  was  rather  exceeding  his  capacity.  They  evidently 
had  full  confidence  in  Kit's  experience.  And  indeed, 
we,  his  comrades  on  the  yacht,  knew  him  too  well  to 
doubt  him  far:  otherwise  we  should  never  have  taken 
passage  in  his  wake  down  that  icy  hill. 

Wash  and  I  bestowed  ourselves  on  the  next  to  the 
rear  sled.  Room  was  made  for  Mr.  Graves  on  the  sled 
in  front  of  us ;  but  he  utterly  refused  to  accompany  the 
train. 

Tom  Edwards  had  the  rear  sled,  —  a  large,  heavy  one, 
with  sharp,  narrow  steel  shoes.  It  was  his  business  to 
keep  the  train  from  swaying  and  "  snapping  off"  round 
Wilkins's  Bend. 

Wade  took  passage  with  him. 

Kit  was  already  flat  in  position  on  his  own  sled. 

'•Xow,  boys,"  he  advised,  "keep  your  feet  up,  and 
don't  get  shaken  off  the  sleds.  Be  ready  with  your  toe, 
Tom,  at  the  bend.  I'll  give  the  word  just  as  we  come 


140  FOX-HUNTING. 

to  pass  it.  When  you  hear  the  word,  all  lean  hard  to 
left;  hug  the  inside  of  the  curve;  throw  your  weight 
that  side.  —  And,  girls,  please  don't  say  a  word  as 
we  go  down.  I  must  do  what  talking  there  is  done 
this  time  myself."  (It  appeared  that  some  of  them 
were  sometimes  a  little  apt  to  scream.)  "  And,  now,  are 
you  all  ready  ?  " 

"  All  ready  !  "  says  Tom. 

"  Shove  off,  then  !  " 

Tom  pushed  from  behind;  and  the  hoy  on  the  sled 
next  behind  the  pung  started  that.  Very  slowly,  the 
long  train  crawled  the  first  rod ;  then,  dipping  over  the 
brow  of  the  pitch,  gathered  headway  rapidly. 

Faster,  faster,  faster ! 

We  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  upper  pitch,  and,  flying 
across  the  level,  shot  down  the  next. 

The  hubbly  motion  on  the  rough  ice  grew  softer. 

A  roar  began. 

The  air  cut  into  our  faces. 

Tears  flew  into  my  eyes. 

What  if  they  should  fly  into  Kit's? 

And  now,  from  all  the  ironwork  of  pung  and  sleds,  a 
low,  but  to  me  awful,  hum  arose,  and  grew  sharper  as 
we  drove  down  the  third  pitch.  "Hang  hard  !  "  shouted 
Kit  in  a  strangely  muffled  voice,  which  seemed  scarcely 
to  reach  us. 

We  all  hung  to  left,  and  clutched  tenaciously  at  the 
sled-beams. 

Momentarily  there  was  an  irresistible  sense  of  being 
flung  on,  and  a  jumble  —  in  my  own  eyes  —  of  tears, 
fence-posts,  and  gravel-banks. 


FOX-HUNTING.  141 

The  next  second  we  were  going  down  the  fourth 
pitch,  with  Wilkins's  .Bend  far  above  us.  All  the 
jolting  motion  had  ceased.  There  seemed  to  be  no 
friction  even.  We  appeared  not  to  touch  the  ice.  The 
track  had  apparently  become  a  river  of  oil ;  and  a  sense 
of  ease  stole  on  one,  startled  only  by  the  dire  quickness 
with  which  the  long  pitch  passed  up  from  under  us. 

Then,  for  a  moment,  we  seemed  to  press  with  terrific 
weight  on  the  level  stretch  at  the  foot  of  it,  which  now 
deflected  our  line  of  descent ;  then,  like  an  arrow  in  air, 
were  on  the  lower  pitch. 

For  my  own  part,  all  sense  of  personal  peril  had  gone 
utterly.  In  its  place  had  come  a  feeling  of  pure  exul- 
tation, a  sense  of  frenzied  delight.  The  rough  stone 
wall  on  either  side  had  my  merest  contempt.  JTwas 
the  poetry  of  coasting. 

So  great  had  been  the  velocity,  that  the  seven  hun- 
dred yards  of  level  road  at  the  foot  of  the  last  pitch  was 
passed  with  the  speed  of  a  cloud-shadow  on  a  day  of 
strong  winds.  Only  toward  the  farther  end  of  it  did 
the  hubbly  motion  recommence.  We  went  forcefully 
up  the  thirty-foot  hill,  despite  its  coat  of  ashes,  and, 
gliding  on,  struck  with  no  great  gentleness  against  the 
Sylvester  steps. 

A  long  breath,  which  was  much  like  a  sigh,  came 
from  every  breast. 

"  How  did  you  like  it  ?  "  exclaimed  Kit,  jumping  up 
from  his  sled. 

"  Kit !  "  cried  Wash  impressively,  "  that's  —  that's 
tremendous,  prodigious !  Let's  have  another ! " 

There  is  something  fearfully  fasciuating  about  rapid 


142  FOX-HUNTING. 

motion  for  poor  mortals.  I  never  yet  knew  a  young 
fellow  who  would  not  cheerfully  jeopardize  his  life  for 
a  rapid  ride. 

The  other  horse  was  hitched  to  the  pung  and  sleds ; 
and  all  hands  started  for  the  top  once  more. 

The  distance  from  the  Sylvesters'  to  the  top  of  the 
ridge  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  —  a  pretty  long  walk, 
considering  the  steepness  of  the  pitches.  Two  slides 
were  deemed  a  pretty  good  evening's  sport. 

At  the  top  of  the  hill  we  found  Mr.  Graves,  shivering 
in  the  cold  wind  which  swept  across  the  crest.  He 
looked  a  little  surprised  to  see  us  coming  hack  safe  and 
sound,  and,  I  almost  fancied,  a  little  dissatisfied. 

He  did  not  inquire  how  we  had  enjoyed  our  slide  ;  hut, 
on  Kit's  repeating  an  invitation  for  him  to  join  us  on 
our  second  descent,  —  an  invitation  which  Miss  Kate 
very  prettily  seconded,  —  he  concluded  to  do  so. 

I  was  very  glad  to  have  him  go ;  for,  having  shared 
my  own  distrust  and  fear,  I  really  wished  him  to  share 
the  pleasurable  excitement  of  the  descent. 

One  of  the  stranger  boys  was  left  to  lead  the  two 
horses  down ;  and  we  started  off  much  as  before,  and 
made  the  trip  with  entire  good  fortune :  though,  in  turn- 
ing Wilkins's  Bend,  the  strap  connecting  the  hind  sled 
snapped ;  and  Tom  and  Wade  made  the  remainder  of  the 
descent  on  their  own  hook,  but  without  any  difficulty. 

"  What  think  of  it,  Graves  ?  "  Wash  demanded. 

Said  Graves,  "  It's  wonderful,  —  as  much  the  slide 
as  the  reckless  skill  that  directed  it." 

Thus  closed  the  most  exciting  evening's  sport  it  has 
ever  been  my  fortune  to  share. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

More  Coasting.  —  The  Old  Pung  comes  to  Grief.  —  Long  "  Trains." 
—  Toiling  up  with  Jule.  —  Rather  Late.  —  On  behind.  — 
Snapped  at  Wilkins's  Bend.  —  Jule  snaps  me.  —  A  Quarrel. 

THE  next  evening  we  were  again  at  Downing  Hill ; 
and,  if  I  remember  correctly,  the  next  also. 

I  think  it  was  the  fourth  evening  that  an  accident 
happened  to  the  old  pung ;  though,  fortunately,  not  to  its 
pretty  freight.  We  had  just  turned  it  around  at  the 
top,  and  Kit  had  gone  off  a  few  steps  to  get  his  sled  to 
put  before  it,  when  the  old  thing,  starting  off  of  its  own 
accord  before  we  could  any  of  us  seize  upon  it,  ran  vio- 
lently down  the  first  pitch,  but,  on  the  level  below  it, 
jumped  the  ditch,  and,  striking  against  the  wall, 
smashed  itself  completely.  Indeed,  about  all  the  old 
pungs  in  the  vicinity  had  met  their  death  on  this  hill, 
first  and  last.  Kit  said  this  was  positively  the  last  one 
he  knew  of. 

After  this  disaster,  we  had  to  bestow  the  girls  on  the 
sleds,  —  an  arrangement  which,  I  think,  gave  equally 
as  good  or  better  satisfaction  all  round ;  for  each  gentle- 

143 


144  FOX-HUNTING. 

man  now  had  the  pleasant  task  of  holding  a  lady  on  a 
sled.  But,  from  having  to  use  more  sleds,  it  added  to  the 
length  of  the  train,  without  adding  to  the  general  safety 
of  the  eighteen  or  twenty  who  rode  on  them. 

Tom  complained  bitterly  to  Kit  of  his  well-nigh  un- 
availing efforts  to  hold  the  "  tail  end  "  from  "  snapping 
off"  at  Willdns's  Bend. 

Furthermore,  the  girls'  dresses  were  liable  to  get 
displaced,  and  be  drawn  under  the  runners  :  this  despite 
all  preliminary  tucking  up  on  our  part;  in  which  case, 
either  dress  or  lady  "  had  to  come  "  with  amazing  spite- 
fulness. 

During  this  time,  Wade  was  Miss  Kate's  escort.  Kit 
used  always  to  place  their  sled  next  his  own. 

Next  came  Wash  with  Miss  Nell. 

The  third  place  used  to  be  alternately  occupied  by 
either  myself  with  Jule,  or  Mr.  Graves  with  the  Misses 
Wilbur  on  a  longer  sled. 

Then  came  a  miscellaneous  concourse  of  coasters. 
Tom  Edwards,  on  the  "  Dragon,"  used  generally  to  close 
the  file.  Kit  and  he  had  the  conduct  of  every  thing, 
and  exhibited  unusual  care  and  skill:  otherwise  there 
must  have  come  catastrophe,  I  am  confident. 

We  had  been  sliding  here  nearly  a  week ;  in  fact,  I 
believe  it  was  the  sixth  evening;  and,  after  our  first 
descent,  Jule  and  I  had  lagged  a  little  behind  the 
others  making  the  asceat.  I  do  not  now  seem  to  recall 
what  interesting  topic  we  were  discussing;  but  suffice 
it  to  say,  that,  when  we  reached  the  top,  the  train  was 
already  made  up,  and  ready  to  start.  <^j_, 

So  nothing  remained  for  Jule  and  JL  but  to  hitch  on 


FOX-HUNTING.  145 

our  sled,  hastily  a£  possible,  behind  Tom  Edwards  on 
"The  Dragon." 

"Now  look  out  sharp,  Mr.  Raed!"  advised  Tom  as 
we  were  getting  seated.  "Be  ready  to  put  your  toe 
down  quick  and  hard  at  the  bend,  or  you'll  be 
snapped ! " 

I  had  a  theory  of  the  way  toes  should  be  put  in  there. 

All  ready  !  and  off  we  went  like  a  rocket ;  only  we 
went  down,  instead  of  up. 

It  may  be  but  the  effects  of  subsequent  fancies ;  but 
it  seems  to  me,  that,  on  that  occasion,  we  went  down 
with  more  than  usual  fury. 

I  think  Jule  was  just  the  least  bit  distrustful  of  me. 
As  we  took  the  third  pitch,  she  reminded  me  of  the 
fact  that  the  bend  came  next.  "Now  put  your  toe 
down  hard ! "  says  Jule  over  her  shoulder.  At  the  same 
instant,  the  general  order  of  "Hang  hard"  was  shouted 
from  the  fore ;  and,  thus  doubly  stimulated,  I  hung  as 
hard,  and  put  my  toe  in  as  sharply,  as  I  could,  I  may 
safely  assert. 

But  either  we  were  foredoomed  (which  I  prefer  to 
believe),  or  else,  possibly,  my  toe  went  in  wrong.  The 
coupling-strap  snapped  like  thread  ;  and  our  sled  went 
over  the  bank  as  if  shot  from  a  catapult.  There  was 
an  instantaneous  crash  and  rattle  of  fence-rails.  The 
sled  struck  broadside  to  on  the  snow-crust  below,  and  we 
both  went  off  it.  A  hard  snow-bank  a  few  yards  be- 
yond received  me  with  a  dizzj'ing,  sickening  shock,  that 
for  a  moment  quite  deprived  me  of  sense ;  but  I  had  had 
a  glimpse  of  Jule  whirling  a  frightful  somersault  farther 
down. 

10 


146  FOX-HUNTING. 

For  a  few  seconds  I  lay  perfectly  still.  I  felt  calm 
enough;  though  every  thing  was  whirling  round,  and 
my  stomach  was  very-  sick.  For  my  life,  I  could  not 
seem  to  stir;  and  a  feeling  of  horror  as  to  Jule's  fate 
took  possession  of  me. 

Was  she  killed  ?  else  why  didn't  she  say  something, 
or,  at  least,  move  ?  I  either  hadn't  the  courage,  or  else 
was  too  much  stunned,  to  look  over  the  snow-bank.  A 
few  moments  later,  I  heard  a  deep  sigh;  then  all  at 
once,  it  seemed,  Jule  was  standing  before  me. 

"  Are  you  dead  ?  are  you  dead  ?  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  No  — no  !  "  said  I ;  but  my  tongue  felt  very  thick. 

"  Oh,  you  aren't  dead  !  "  she  cried  indignantly. 

"Not  at  all,"  I  said,  and,  making  a  strong  effort,  got 
up.  "  Are  you  hurt  ?  "  I  found  sense  to  ask. 

"  Nothing  to  speak  of,"  she  replied  shortly. 

I  was  foolish  enough  to  say  that  we  ought  to  be  very 
thankful. 

"  Thankful  ! "  exclaimed  Jule  in  sudden  heat. 
"  Why  didn't  you  put  your  toe  down  ?  For  pity  sake, 
why  ?  " 

"  I  did,  I  did ! "  said  I.     "  I  did,  honestly,  Jule." 

"  Humph  !  "  muttered  my  indignant  partner.  "  I'd 
better  steered  that  sled  myself" 

11 1  don't  doubt  it,  Jule,"  I  admitted.  "  The  fact  is, 
Wilkins's  Bend  is  too  much  for  me." 

"  Any  sort  of  a  bend  would  be  too  much  for  you,  I 
reckon  !  "  retorted  Jule  with  fearful  sarcasm. 

"  Jule,"  said  I  frankly,  "  I  am  very  sorry.  Pardon 
me,  —  if  you  can.  I  am  sorry." 

"  Sorry  ! "  said  she  contemptuously.  "  I  don't  see 
how  that  helps  it.  Look  at  that  fence  ! " 


FOX-HUNTING.  147 

It  wasn't  a  pleasant  tiling  to  look  at.  The  nose  of 
the  sled  appeared  to  have  struck  a  post  near  the  top. 
The  post  was  broken  short  off,  and  two  lengths  of  the 
fence  knocked  down.  The  rails  lay  all  along  the  slope 
below. 

A  very  weak  idea  occurred  to  me. 

"  Jule,"  said  I,  "  seeing  we  are  not  hurt  much,  don't 
you  call  it  rather  romantic,  —  our  taking  such  a  tumble 
together  ?  " 

But  practical  Jule  merely  laughed  at  me. 

"  Komantic ! "  she  mimicked.  "  I  don't  see  any  thing 
romantic  in  going  head  first  through  a  rail  fence,  all 
because  you  hadn't  sense  enough  to  put  down  your 
toe," 

I  thought  this  last  fling  a  rather  hard  one.  She 
fairly  hurt,  my  feelings;  and  I  had  not  a  word  to 
say. 

"And,  if  you  are  going  to  be  so  romantic  as  this," 
sneered  Jule,  "you  will  please  slide  with  somebody 
else." 

That  was  too  much. 

I  said,  "  Very  well,  Miss  Sylvester." 

In  short,  we  quarrelled. 

Kit  and  Tom  came  panting  up,  followed  by  all  the 
others,  and  found  us,  amid  the  ruins  of  the  fence,  en- 
gaged in  mutual  recrimination.  They  had  expected  to 
find  us  dead.  At  first  they  stared ;  then  began  to  smile 
—  audibly. 

I  will  not  say  I  was  not  glad  to  be  found  alive ;  but 
it  was  very  exasperating,  —  very.  Wilkins's  Bend  had 
"  snapped  "  me ;  so  had  Jule. 


148  FOX-HUNTING. 

I  said  I  had  good  reason  to  remember  the  place :  it 
certainly  lost  me  a  sweetheart;  for,  from  that  night, 
Jule  and  I  were  worse  than  strangers. 

The  insidious  "Wash  stepped  into  my  shoes  early  the 
next  day. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Another  "Crisis." — Wade  in  Trouble:  he  waxes  Vehement,  and 
talks  of  visiting  his  Mother  in  Baltimore.  —  Meanwhile  I  catch 
Sie:ht  of  a  Desirable  Vacancy,  and  become  a  Humorist.  — 
"  Queerie  Days."  —  Something  like  a  "  Glamour."  —  The  Fox- 
hunters'  Soiree. 

~TT"7~HEX  a  young  fellow  sees  trouble  such  as  I  at 
V  V  this  time  saw,  he  is  not  apt  to  meddle  with  or 
even  take  much  notice  of  the  affairs  of  his  friends. 

Yet,  however  so  deeply  plunged  in  affliction  and 
chagrin,  I  should  have  beer*  blind  indeed  not  to  have 
observed  that  Wade  was  "  pretty  far  gone."  He  at- 
tended Miss  Kate  everywhere.  When  we  slid,  he  was 
her  cavalier ;  when  we  had  the  barge  out,  he  sat  by  her 
side;  after  all  our  evening  gatherings,  he  escorted 
her  home  ;  and  latterly,  like  his  predecessor  Wash,  he 
had  begun  to  call  at  the  Edwards's  quite  independently 
of  the  rest  of  us.  Then,  too,  he  was  feverishly  gay  at 
odd  times,  and  surprisingly  moody  and  perverse  at 
others, — symptoms  which  I  had  begun  to  identify. 

I  foresaw  (whenever,  for  a  moment,  I  rose  superior  to 
my  own  sorrows)  that  a  crisis  —  another  crisis  —  was 
at  hand. 

149 


150  FOX-HUNTING. 

From  taking  long  evening  walks  amid  a  certain 
craggy  section  of  the  district,  I  had  fallen  inadvertently 
into  a  habit  of  sleeping  rather  late  mornings, — later 
than  my  comrades  considerably;  and  the  habit  clung 
to  me  even  after  Wash  had  begun  to  do  the  walking. 
Great  griefs,  they  say,  induce  sleep.  Perhaps  it  was 
grief  did  it. 

But  to  resume.  About  a  week  after  the  affair  at  Wil- 
kins's  Bend,  I  was  aroused  one  morning  by  Wade. 
Wash  was  already  up,  and  gone  down  (he  and  I  did  not 
interfere  with  each  other  much  of  late).  Bousing  up, 
lo !  it  was  Wade  alone ;  and,  on  getting  sufficiently 
awake  to  rationally  look  him  in  the  face,  I  felt  con- 
vinced that  it  was  Wade  in  trouble. 

At  that  my  heart  went  out  to  him.  Misery  loves 
company  (?) 

"Wade,  old  hoy,  what  is  it?"  I  said;  for  his  was  a 
face  on  which  his  woes  always  smote  hard. 

"  Good  -  morning,  Raecl,"  he  replied  listlessly. 
"  They've  called  breakfast,  I  believe." 

I  hastily  arose  to  dress.  Wade  sat  down  to  gaze  out 
on  the  white  lake.  ,But  I  knew  he  was  quite  wretched. 

"Raed/'  said  he  at  length,  "  I  ought  to  visit  mother 
and  my  sisters  at  Baltimore.  I've  about  made  up  my 
mind  to  spend  the  remainder  of  the  winter  with  them." 

"Indeed!"  I  exclaimed  (though  I  was  not  wholly 
surprised).  "  You  don't  mean  it ! " 

"  I  think  that  I  rather  ought  to  do  so,"  he  said  with 
gloomy  evasion. 

"  What !  and  leave  us  all  up  here  ?  —  leave  Miss 
Kate?"  I  demanded. 


FOX-HUNTING.  151 

"  Raed ! "  he  cried  out,  jumping  to  his  feet,  "  that 
girl  is  a  cold,  heartless  flirt ! " 

"  Beautiful  girls  'most  all  are,"  I  commented  with 
freshly-springing  misanthropy.  "Miss  Kate  is  very 
beautiful  undoubtedly." 

"  Yes,  she  is,"  repeated  "Wade  with  sombre  fire  glow- 
ing in  his  dark  eyes.  "I  never  saw  a  more  beautiful 
girl :  I  never  did,  anywhere  !  And  she  is  a  lady  too,  — 
every  whit  a  lady.  But  she  is  utterly  heartless,  and, 
worse  still,  perfidious." 

"That's  rather  strong  talk,  Wade,"  I  said.  "Think 
again.  You  cannot  mean  all  that." 

"I  do ! "  cried  he  vehemently.  "  If  I  could  find 
stronger  terms,  I  would  use  them  still.  She  is  just  like 
all  your  cold-blooded  Northern  beauties,  —  heartless, 
perfidious  !  " 

He  was  in  a  raging  excitement ;  and  there  was  an 
old-time  fury  in  his  eye  which  I  did  not  much  like. 

"  Curse  the  North !  "  he  ran  on.  "  I  wish  on  my  soul 
I  had  never  entered  it !  It's  no  place  for  me.  I  hate 
ice  !  0-o-o-ogh  !  ...  It  may  be  beautiful ;  but  it's  cold, 
cold,  and  utterly  heartless  !  " 

I  did  not  like  that,  but  wisely  held  my  tongue,  and 
soon  began  to  pity  the  fellow.  He  was  unhappy  and 
desperate. 

"I  don't  believe  you  have  slept  a  wink  all  night," 
I  said  after  a  pause. 

Wade  had  gone  to  the  window.  He  turned  passion- 
ately ;  but  I  was  not  angry.  I  suppose  he  saw  well- 
meant  sympathy  instead.  He  sat  down,  and  looked 
silently  out  on  the  lake  while  I  finished  dressing; 
then  he  went  to  the  glass  to  brush  his  hair. 


152  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Raed,"  be  began,  "  I  know  you  think  I'm  an  im- 
pulsive fool ;  and  I  am.  And  I  beg  your  pardon,  old 
fellow  "  (with  a  sudden  burst),  "  for  hurting  your  feelings. 
I  was  entirely  to  blame,  —  all  to  blame." 

I  was  only  too  glad  to  shake  hands  over  it. 

This  was  Wade  all  over,  —  ready  to  strike  you  dead 
if  you  foolishly  irritated  him,  but  sorry  from  his  soul 
the  next  moment. 

Whatever  had  really  passed  between  him  and  Miss 
Kate,  I  know  not.  Wade  never  resumed  the  topic 
with  me ;  but  his  attentions  to  her  stopped  short. 

Nor  did  he  carry  off  his  defeat  quite  so  well  as  Wash 
had  done.  Perhaps  the  reckless  little  god  had  wounded 
him  more  deeply.  He  was  moody  and  owlish  for  several 
days.  Worse  still,  he  held  himself  quite  aloof  from  Miss 
Kate;  though  she  ever  greeted  him  pleasantly  and 
kindly,  and  even  went  out  of  her  way,  I  thought,  to 
give  him  good-evening  and  a  word's  good  cheer. 

"To  a  man  up  a  tree,"  as  some  of  our  facetious 
reporters  say,  it  looked  as  if  both  Wash  and  Wade  were 
«  floored." 

There  was  a  vacancy  at  Miss  Kate's  elbow,  —  a  very 
desirable  one ;  I  thought  none  the  less  so  that  the  two 
previous  occupants  had  held  rather  brief  tenure. 

I  told  Kit  of  Wade's  announced  intention  of  depart- 
ing for  Baltimore,  and  let  him  draw  his  own  inference. 
He  was  thoroughly  vexed,  and  really  felt  very  badly 
about  it ;  at  least,  he  seemed  to. 

I  think  Wade  and  Wash  had  some  private  conver- 
sation about  this  time.  It  is  not  likely  that  they 
condoled  together:  young  fellows  rarely  do  that  sort 


FOX-HUNTING.  153 

of  thing,  I  believe.  But  I  surmised  that  "Wash  gave 
his  cousin  a  little  worldly-minded  advice,  which  prob- 
ably did  him  no  harm ;  for  he  said  no  more  about  Balti- 
more, and  resumed  his  devoir  to  Miss  Nell,  who  pres- 
ently cheered  him  up. 

Meanwhile  the  most  Mr.  Graves  and  I  did  was  to 
watch  each  other  with  a  view  to  the  vacancy  above 
hinted  at. 

The  rascal  had  an  advantage  of  me  at  the  school- 
room, which  I  had  no  doubt  he  abused. 

But  I  bethought  myself  of  the  extremely  pleasant 
hour  Miss  Kate  and  I  had  spent  together  on  the  lake, 
as  also  of  the  many  pleasant  chats  since  ;  and,  coupling 
these  with  the  disasters  which  Wash  and  Wade  had 
suffered,  I  grew  suddenly  hopeful.  Who  knew  but  that 
Miss  Kate  —  but  that  I  —  (I  declare,  the  personal 
vanity  implied  in  that  thought  makes  me,  in  view  of 
the  result,  wince  so,  that  I  really  can't  finish  the 
sentence.) 

Never  before,  and  I  hope  I  may  add  since,  had  I 
been  betrayed  into  so  expanded  an  estimate  of  myself. 

Cautiously,  and  very  strategetically  as  I  imagined, 
I  proceeded  to  take  Wade's  place.  I  even  nattered 
myself  that  Miss  Kate  was  a  good  deal  pleased  with 
the  change.  She  used  certainly  to  smile  a  great  deal 
daring  those  first  .few  days.  I  rather  thought  I  was 
growing  humorous,  and  exerted  myself  correspondingly 
in  that  direction.  It's  very  delightful  to  keep  a  pretty 
girl  smiling :  it  not  only  heightens  her  beauty,  but 
heightens  one's  good  opinion  of  one's  self.  I  deem  that 
the  very  highest  office  of  wit :  besides,  it  is  a  mutually 
co-operative  exercise. 


154  •      FOX-HUNTING. 

Ah!  those  were  "queerie"  days.  A  glamour  still 
hangs  over  them.  Miss  Kate  could  be  just  simply 
delightful,  and,  were  I  to  speak  with  reference  to  my 
then  state  of  mind,  I  should  certainly  say  bewitching. 
I  may  add,  that  she  was  moderately  fond  of  exercising 
this  gift. 

Ah,  well!     Time  flew:  he's  always  flying. 

Christmas  came.  The  "fox-hunters"  gave  another 
hall.  We  had  the  hall  over  the  store.  But  these  "  fox- 
hunters'  balls  "  are  incidents  scarcely  worthy  of  record. 
Both  the  music  and  the  dancing  were  irredeemably 
"  third-rate." 

New- Year's  we  changed  the  programme,  and  had  a 
"soiree"  with  even  worse  success. 

Nobody  (save  our  particular  party)  knew  what  it 
was,  and,  as  a  consequence,  didn't  dare  to  come,  except 
a  few  hardy  youths  of  the  baser  sort,  who  hung  round 
the  door. 

This  latter  incident  vexed  Kit.  But  Miss  Kate  was 
so  amused,  and  laughed  so  much,  that  I  rather  enjoyed 
it,  after  all. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Wash  has  the  Impudence  to  offer  me  Advice,  which  I  reject  with 
Merited  Scorn.  —  Out  in  the  Barge  again.  —  A  Strange  Track.  — 
Kit's  Story.  —  The  Lumbermen.  —  Dan.  —  "  Gee,  Buck  !"  —  A 
Wild  Ride  along  a  "Logging  Road."  —  "Treed."  —  Smoked 
out.  —  A  Scare.  —  Holding  the  Horses.  —  Felling  the  Hemlock. 
—  The  Game  shows  Fight.  — A  Lively  Scrimmage.  —  Our  Fair 
Companions  show  the  "  White-Feather."  —  A  Fisher.  —  The 
Ladies  refuse  to  ride  with  the  Game. 

I  THINK  it  was  the  morning  after  New-Year's  that 
I  caught  Wash  regarding  me  with  a  kind  of  implor- 
ing, regretful  look,  which  made  me  a  little  uneasy.  It 
nettled  me  too.  A  little  after,  I  heard  him  studiously 
clearing  his  throat  with  the  general  intonation  of  a  man 
about  to  offer  prayer,  or  "  address  the  mourners." 

I  paid  no  attention  to  him.  I  had  a  scurvy  suspicion 
that  he  wanted  to  borrow  money,  —  "  twenty  dollars ;  " 
that  being  the  usual  form  of  petition. 

I  utterly  misjudged  him. 

"  Kaed,"  he  began  at  last,  and  with  some  hesitancy, 
"  I  believe  I  never  yet  took  it  upon  me  to  bore  you  with 
any  thing  like  advice."  I  replied  to  the  effect  that  I 
did  not  now  recall  any  instance  of  that  sort. 

155 


156  FOX-HUNTING. 

"Just  so,"  said  he.  "As  a  rule,  I  don't  believe  in 
it.  But,  if  you'll  pardon  me,  I'm  going  to  depart  from 
the  rule,  for  once  "  —  He  paused  slightly. 

"  Drive  ahead !  "  I  exclaimed  jocularly.  "  Spit  it 
out ! " 

"Raed,"  he  resumed,  without  in  the  least  resenting 
my  irreverent  request,  "  you're  driving  on  a  dangerous 
coast;  and  my  advice  is,  Sheer  off!" 

"  Wash,"  said  I,  now  on  my  full  dignity,  "  allow  me 
to  ask,  Why  didn't  you  sheer  off  when  you  were  on  the 
same  coast  a  month  ago  ?  " 

Wash  blushed  in  spite  of  himself. 

"Don't  presume  to  think,"  said  I,  charging  him  in 
his  confusion,  "  that,  because  you  failed  to  make  a 
harbor,  nobody  else  can." 

Wash  flared  up.  "I've  had  the  honor  to  advise  two 
fools  within  a  month,"  he  muttered ;  "  and  hang  me 
if  this  isn't  the  biggest  one  of  the  two  !  " 

"  It's  no  sort  of  use,  Wash,"  I  went  on  tauntingly, 
"for  you  to  be  giving  me  wind.  I  know  what  you're 
after.  But  Miss  Kate  wants  nothing  more  of  you. 
You  haven't  a  ghost  of  a  chance.  .  .  .  But  you're  wel- 
come to  Jule." 

Wash  went  out,  and  banged  the  door. 

I  congratulated  myself  on  having  put  a  very  lively 
flea  in  his  ear. 

The  idea  of  that  Wash  presuming  to'  give  me  advice 
—  about  a  lady  !  'Twas  too  much. 

Looking  back  to  this  time,  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  I 
am  now  at  some  loss  to  account  for  the  self-sufficiency 
which  I  felt,  and  the  insolence  with  which  I  treated 


FOX-HUNTING.  157 

my  best  friends.  It  is  singular  how  the  smiles  of 
beauty  will  breed  this  sort  of  stuff  in  a  fellow.  Ah, 
Beauty !  thou  wert  ever  a  promiscuous  scatterer  of  the 
.flambeaux  of  discord.  Such  are  my  sage  reflections 
to-day 

About  this  time  there  fell  a  great  quantity  of  light, 
damp  snow  ;  and  we  did  a  smart  stroke  of  business  in 
the  fox-hunting  line.  We  were  out  every  day  that 
week  (\ve  fellows,  I  mean),  and  ran  down  three  red 
foxes  and  a  "cross  gray." 

And  on  Saturday  we  had  the  barge  out  at  eight  in 
the  morning,  and,  riding  round  to  take  up  our  fair  com- 
panions, drove  up  beside  the  swamp.  We  were  nearly 
always  sure  of  a  fox  in  there.  Its  cedar-thickets  and 
wide  alder-covers  were  a  fastness  to  which  they  natu- 
rally retreated  from  their  nightly  forrays  about  the  farm- 
houses. 

Emery  had  gone  down  across  with  the  hounds :  we 
had  latterly  made  him  our  huntsman.  As  we  came  up 
the  road  from  the  direction  of  the  Sylvesters',  we  heard 
the  dogs  in  full  cry  far  up  the  swamp.  'Twas  down- 
right cheery. 

"  Found  one  so  quick  ! "  exclaimed  Kit. 

Tom  set  the  horses  into  a  gallop. 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  on  we  espied  Emery. 
He  had  come  out  into  the  road,  and  was  waiting  our 
coming  up. 

"  I  found  a  track ;  and  I've  put  'em  on  it,"  he  reported 
to  Kit  as  we  pulled  up  beside  him.  "  But  I  don't  think 
it  is  a  fox-track." 

"  Not  a  fox-track  ?  "  said  Tom  Edwards. 


158  FOX-HUNTING. 

"It  looked  too  big  for  a  fox,"  Emery  explained. 
"And  the  prints  are  rather  nearer  together:  they  aren't 
made  like  a  fox,  either.  I  didn't  know  what  to  do  about 
putting  them  on  it.  I  never  saw  just  such  a  track 
before.  But  finally  I  thought  I'd  put  'em  on.  I  can 
run  on  up  the  road  and  take  them  off,  though,  if  you 
say  so.  They're  still  in  the  swamp,  doubling.  It's 
about  the  crookedest  trail  I  ever  beat  for." 

"  Let  'em  run ;  let  'em  run ! "  cried  Wash.  "  I 
should  like  to  find  out  what  it  is." 

"  Yes,  let  them  go,"  said  Kit. 

Emery  was  taken  up ;  and  we  drove  leisurely  on  as 
the  hounds  worked  gradually  up.  the  swamp.  We  felt 
not  a  little  curious  as  to  the  sort  of  game  we  had 
started. 

Kit  and  young  Edwards  very  likely  had  an  idea  what 
it  was  ;  but  they  said  nothing. 

Miss  Nell  felt  sure  it  must  be  a  bear;  but  Emery 
declared  that  it  was  too  small  for  a  bear-track. 

"  Oh,  dear !  I  hope  it  is  not  one  of  those  dreadful 
creatures  we  had  such  a  fearful  adventure  with  on  the 
lake  two  years  ago  last  summer ! "  cried  Miss  .  Kate. 
"  If  it  is,  let's  not  chase  it,  for  pity's  sake  !  " 

Kit  and  Tom  began  to  laugh  at  the  reminiscence 
thus  recalled. 

"  I  think  I  never  heard  of  that,  Miss  Kate,"  I  said. 

"Nor  I,"  said  Wade. 

"  Tell  us  of  that ! "  exclaimed  Wash. 

"  Dear  me,  no  !  "  protested  Kate.  "  I  can't  even  bear 
to  think  of  it,  much  less  relate  it.  I  never  was  so 
frightened  in  my  whole  life ;  and  it  makes  me  chill  now 
to  hear  it  spoken  of." 


FOX-HUNTING.  159 

Said  Wash,  "You  excite  my  curiosity  beyond  all 
bounds.  Miss  Edwards,  you  must  positively  tell  us  of 
that ! " 

"  I  wouldn't  dare  to  try  !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  I  never 
should  get  through  it  coherently.  —  Kit,  you  tell  them 
all  about  it,  please." 

"I  think  they  would  much  rather  hear  it  from  you, 
Kate,"  said  Kit,  laughing. 

"  Of  course,  of  course !  "  we  all  chimed  in. 

"  No,  no,  no,  no,  no,  no,  no  ! "  persisted  Miss  Kate. 
"  I  never  could  tell  it  straight !  You  shall  tell  them, 
Kit !  Begin  quick  —  now !  " 

"  Yes,  you  tell  it,  Kit,"  said  Miss  Nell. 

"  Well,"  said  Kit,  "  it  was  quite  a  scarey  adventure, 
as  Kate  says.  You  see,  we  were  out  on  the  lake  in  a 
boat  one  evening.  It  was  in  August,  along  the  first  of 
the  month.  There  was  Tom  here,  and  Nell  and  Kate 
and  Addison  —  Kate's  older  brother  "  (with  a  bow  to 
Miss  Kate)  —  "  and  myself. 

"  It  was  about  nine  o'clock.  The  twilight  had  nearly 
faded  out.  Over  the  dark  hemlock-ridges  to  the  east- 
ward there  began  to  glow  faintly  the  light  of  the  still 
hidden  moon;  but  it  had  not  yet  touched  the  lake, 
which  lay  still,  and  black  as  ink.  Every  thing  seemed 
to  have  gone  to  sleep,  —  every  thing  save  the  loons, 
sailing  along  in  the  darkness,  and  now  and  then  waking 
the  echoes  with  their  clear  alto  cries.  We  had  just 
passed  a  small  island  covered  with  low  pines,  and  were 
a  mile,  perhaps,  from  the  high,  dark  shore  along  the 
head  of  the  lake,  when  Nell,  who  was  sitting  in  the 
bow,  dabbling  her  hands  in  the  warm  waters,  suddenly 
sat  up,  and,  listening  a  moment,  cried  out,  — 


160  POX-HUNTING. 

"'Don't  you  hear  that  noise?  Wait  a  moment. 
Now  hark ! ' 

"We  listened  intently.  A  faint  paddling  was  just 
audible,  which  seemed  to  be  ahead  of  us  some  little 
distance,  —  a  hundred  yards,  perhaps. 

"  I  thought  it  was  nothing  but  a  loon. 

"'Oh,  a  loon  never  makes  a  noise  like  that,  swim- 
ming ! '  said  Add.  '  It's  some  animal,  —  a  muskrat, 
perhaps.' 

"  '  Or  it  may  be  an  otter,'  Tom  said.  '  I'll  bet  it  is 
one.  Pie  was  probably  down  at  that  little  island,  but, 
when  he  saw  us  coming  up,  took  off  for  the  shore.' 

"  '  He's  got  a  long  way  to  swim,'  Nell  said. 

" '  Let's  chase  him ! '  exclaimed  Tom  :  '  we  may  over- 
haul him.' 

"  '  Agreed  ! ' 

"  Tom  and  Add  bent  to  it  at  the  oars ;  while  I  climbed 
back  into  the  stern,  and  added  considerable  to  the  speed 
by  sculling.  On  we  went  at  a  great  rate.  Just  then 
the  moon  began  to  poke  its  bright  face  up  over  the 
ridge,  making  it  much  lighter. 

"'Ah!  we're  gaining  on  him!'  Kate  said  from  the 
bow.  '  I  can  see  something  black  up  there,  paddling 
along,  —  his  head,  I  suppose.  Poor  fellow  !  how  he's 
working  to  get  away  ! ' 

"  '  How  near  is  he  ?  '  asked  Add. 

"  '  Why,  I  can  see  his  ears  ! '  exclaimed  Nell.  ( How 
they  stick  up !  And  oh,  my  !  what  a  great  head  ! ' 

"  '  A  great  head  ! '  exclaimed  Tom,  looking  hastily 
around. 

"  '  Yes,  and  such  a  great  one  !     Why,  it's  as  big  as 


FOX-HUNTING.  161 

yours!  There,  he's  looking  round  at  us!  How  his 
eyes  shine  !  For  pity's  sake,  don't  get  any  nearer ! ' 

"  We  drew  in  our  oars  at  this,  and  turned  to  take  a 
look  ourselves.  We  had  come  up  within  three  or  four 
rods  of  him ;  and  the  boat  kept  driving  on  after  we 
stopped  rowing,  it  was  under  such  headway. 

"  '  Gracious  ! '  exclaimed  Tom,  starting  up  with  his 
oar.  'I  should  say  head!  That's  no  otter  !  Hold  on, 
or  we  shall  be  on  to  him ! ' 

'•'  Hearing  the  outcry,  the  creature  turned  his  head 
again,  showing  a  pair  of  great  yellow  eyes  blazing  with 
fury,  and,  seeing  us  so  near,  faced  about  in  the  water, 
and  came  straight  for  the  boat.  We  all  sprang  up. 

"The  girls  screamed,  and  came  scrambling  back  out 
of  the  bow.  The  boat  was  rocking  violently  under  us  : 
and  Tom,  striking  with  all  his  might  at  the  creature, 
missed  him ;  and,  before  he  could  get  his  oar  up  out  of 
the  water  for  another  blow,  the  beast  had  his  claws  on 
the  gunwale,  and,  with  a  raspy  growl,  came  plump  over 
into  the  boat.  Add  and  I  sprang  forward  to  strike  him  ; 
the  girls  screeched,  and  ran  against  us  :  and,  somehow, 
we  all  went  down  in  a  heap  on  one  side ;  and,  the  first 
thing  I  knew,  we  were  all  in  the  water,  splash ! 

"  The  boat  had  upset.  I  pitched  out  head-foremost, 
and  went  down  several  feet,  still  clinging  to  my  oar,  and 
all  mixed  up  with  the  others.  But,  being  a  tolerable 
swimmer,  I  knew  enough  to  hold  my  breath,  and  in  a 
few  moments  came  to  the  surface.  Nell  had  also  caught 
hold  of  the  oar,  and  came  up  with  me,  gasping  and 
strangling ;  and,  doing  my  best  to  keep  the  oar  afloat, 
I  succeeded  in  preventing  her  from  going  down  a 
11 


162  FOX-HUNTING. 

second  time.  Add  and  Kate  were  floundering  about 
near  us,  but,  after  sousing  once  or  twice,  floated  with 
heads  out. 

" '  Ugh  ! '  sighed  Miss  Kate. 

"  The  next  thing  to  be  looked  for  was  the  boat.  After 
spilling  us,  and  dipping  up  quite  a  quantity  of  water, 
it  had  righted,  and  lay  a  rod  or  two  away,  the  scene 
of  active  combat  between  Tom  and  the  creature,  what- 
ever it  was.  Tom  had  gone  overboard  with  the  rest  of 
us,  but  had  kept  hold  of  the  boat,  and,  paddle  in  hand, 
was  now  trying  to  board  at  the  bow,  iu  the  very  teeth 
of  the  creature,  which  stood  on  the  nearest  seat,  with 
its  back  up,  spitting  and  snarling  at  him. 

"  The  tables  were  turned.  We  had  been  fairly  ousted ; 
and  now  the  cat  intended  to  keep  possession.  There  he 
stood,  about  the  size  of  a  large  dog,  with  his  feet  all 
together,  and  back  beautifully  curved,  — just  as  you've 
seen  a  house-cat  when  mad  or  scared,  — in  the  very  poise 
of  jumping  at  Tom,  who  still  persisted  in  climbing  in. 
..  "  Of  course,  we  were  not  disinterested  spectators 
exactly. 

" '  Scat,  scat ! '  yelled  Tom,  poking  at  him  with  his 
paddle,  with  one  leg  over  the  nose  of  the  boat. 

"  The  creature  snarled. 

"  '  Work  him  easy,  Tom  ! '  I  said. 

"  '  Knock  him  sidewise  with  your  paddle  ! '  Add  ad- 
vised. 

"  But,  before  Tom  could  '  knock  him  sidewise,'  the 
creature  leaped  at  him  ;  and  over  they  both  went,  souse  ! 
and  down  out  of  sight. 

" '  Keep  Kate  up,  if  you  can  ! '  cried  Add.     *  Now's 


FOX-HUNTING.  163 

our  time ! '  and,  pushing  her  along  to  our  oar,  he  struck 
out  for  the  stern,  reached  it  with  a  few  strokes,  and 
clambered  in.  Tom  had  come  up  pretty  near  us,  and 
was  swimming  for  the  boat  again;  and,  just  at  that 
moment,  the  cat's  head  bobbed  up  over  the  gunwale  on 
the  other  side.  But  Add  had  got  fairly  in,  and,  snatch- 
ing up  one  of  the  thwarts,  pounded  him  over  the  head, 
and  belabored  his  paws  across  the  edge  of  the  rail,  till 
he  let  go,  and  swam  off. 

"  Tom  now  climbed  in  :  the  boat  was  brought  round, 
and  the  rest  of  us  picked  up,  —  well  soaked,  of  course. 

"  But,  beyond  a  little  red  scratch  on  Tom's  cheek,  no- 
body was  clawed,  or  in  any  way  hurt ;  which,  for  the 
peril  incurred,  was  certainly  getting  out  of  it  as  well  as 
could  be  expected. 

"  And  the  water  had  been  so  warm,  that  we  were  not 
chilled,  nor,  saving  the  unpleasant  sensation  of  wet  gar- 
ments, much  the  worse  for  our  ducking. 

"We  could  still  hear  the  creature  splashing  along 
towards  the  shore.  But  we  had  no  desire  to  try  another 
race  with  him,  and  made  the  best  of  our  way  home- 
ward, a  far  damper,  if  not  wiser,  party  than  when  we 
went  out. 

"  It  was  no  use  trying  to  conceal  or  smooth  over  our 
adventure;  we  bore  too  unmistakable  evidences  of  it; 
and,  of  course,  got  well  laughed  at,  as  well  as  pitied. 

"  I  have  always  supposed  that  it  was  a  lynx,  or  a  luci- 
vee  as  the  folks  round  here  call  them.  Grandfather 
says  that  these  creatures  used  frequently  to  be  seen 
swimming  in  the  lake.  They  like  water  as  well  as  a 
dog." 


164  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Well,  that  was  an  adventure ! "  cried  Wade. 

"  No  wonder  you  were  frightened,  Miss  Kate,"  sym- 
pathized Wash. 

While  Kit  had  been  telling  us  this,  we  had  corne  a 
mile  or  more  along  the  road  bordering  the  swamp,  just 
keeping  pace  with  the  hounds.  We  could  hear  them 
plainly,  off  three  or  four  hundred  yards  in  the  thick 
growth,  threading  the  thickets,  and  beating  about.  The 
creature,  whatever  it  was,  kept  in  the  swamp,  doubling 
like  a  hare. 

Half  a  mile  farther  we  came  to  where  there  were 
"winter  roads"  leading  off  across  the  cedar-bottoms. 
Parties  were  engaged  getting  out  "shingle  stuff;  "so 
Tom  informed  us..  Piles  of  cedar-logs  lay  beside  the 
main  road,  along  which  we  were  driving ;  and  a  yoke  of 
oxen,  with  white,  frosty  "whiskers,"  were  chained  to  a 
tree  beside  the  road.  A  little  above,  a  loaded  team  was 
waiting  just  in  the  edge  of  the  swamp  for  us  to  pass, — 
a  rough  sled,  loaded  high  with  white  cleft  wood,  and 
drawn  by  more  white-whiskered  oxen,  whose  honest 
toil  had  turned  to  frost  along  their  steaming  backs. 

"  Gee,  Buck  ! "  shouted  a  white-whiskered  man  of 
twenty  from  behind. 

The  subject  bovines  tug  and  strain  at  their  bows  to 
bring  the  heavy  load  up  into  the  road. 

"  Halloo,  Dan  !  "  cried  Kit.     "  Sharp,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  Little  sharp  this  morning,"  says  Dan,  stamping  his 
moccasoned  feet,  and  glancing  curiously  at  our  equipage. 
"  Another  fox  ?  " 

Tom  explains  the  uncertainty  we  are  in. 

"  Bob-cat,  perhaps,"  suggests  Dan. 


FOX-HUNTING.  165 

And  meanwhile  I  observe  that  he  casts  an  admiring 
glance  at  Miss  Kate,  who  nods  pleasantly  to  him. 

'•Back,  Buck!  Huh,  Star,  up!"  And  so  we  pass 
him. 

But  the  regular  "  Ough,  ough,  ough  ! "  out  in  the 
swamp,  had  suddenly  ceased.  We  listened  for  some 
minutes. 

"  Lost  the  scent,  I  guess,"  muttered  Kit. 

But,  a  moment  later,  there  came  a  long  howl. 

"  Treed  him  !  "  shouted  Tom  ;  "  or  else  holed  him !  " 

A  few  rods  farther  ahead  there  was  another  of  the 
"  winter  roads  "  leading  out  into  the  swamp.  Without 
a  further  word,  Tom  whipped  up  the  horses,  and  plunged 
into  the  roughly-beaten  trail.  The  barge  bumped  over 
tussocks  and  old  logs  only  half  buried  by  the  snow. 
The  drooping  cedar-boughs  brushed  us  overbead.  It 
was  a  wild  dash ;  but  the  hounds  were  calling. 

We  clung  to  the  sides  of  the  barge  and  to  each 
other,  and  went  on  with  the  horses  at  a  gallop.  Then 
came  a  half-open  slough ;  but  Tom,  now  utterly  reckless, 
lashed  them  through.  Mud  and  water  flew ;  but  a  tre- 
mendous jerk  landed  us  on  the  otber  side.  On  again, 
"  ducking  "  nimbly  to  escape  the  irate  branches,  which 
swept  us  remorselessly. 

Then  somebody  suddenly  espied  the  hounds  off  in 
the  swamp  to  the  right  of  us. 

"  There  they  are  !  —  there  they  are  !  " 

There  they  were,  sure  enough ;  but  the  logging-road 
did  not  lead  within  a  dozen  rods  of  the  great  yellow 
birch  under  which  we  could  see  them  all  three  standing, 
looking  up,  and  whining  in  their  eagerness. 


166  FOX-HUNTING. 

The  horses  were  stopped. 

We  all,  save  the  girls,  leapea  oat.  Wash  seized  upon 
the  rifle.  Kit  took  the  shot-gun.  Jule  volunteered  to 
hold  the  team.  We  started  out  toward  the  tree  as  fast 
as  we  could  wallow  through  the  two  feet  of  snow. 

"  What  sort  of  a  heast  can  it  be  ?  "  was  Wash's  ques- 
tion. And,  with  eyes  in  the  tree-top,  we  cautiously  drew 
near. 

"  Don't  see  any  thing  of  him,"  muttered  Tom  at 
length.  "  Nice  joke  if  we've  been  chasing  nothing  but 
a  squirrel  all  this  time  ! " 

Nice  joke  indeed.  We  moved  round  the  birch, 
keeping  off  four  or  five  rods  from  the  trunk.  Amid  the 
bare  branches  of  the  top  there  was  no  sign  of  game 
crouching.  There  were  now  no  leaves  to  give  it  conceal- 
ment. 

"Nothing  at  all  in  the  tree  ! "  cried  Wash  perplexedly, 
—  "  not  even  a  squirrel ! " 

But  Kit,  who  had  gone  round  on  the  opposite  side, 
espied  a  hole  in  the  trunk  at  the  but. 

"  Aha  ! "  he  shouted.  "  In  the  tree,  instead  of  on  it. 
Qone  up,  or  down,  inside  the  trunk." 

We  closed  up.  It  was  a  large  gnarly  orifice,  such  as 
one  frequently  sees  near  the  root  of  these  great  birches, 
big  enough  to  let  one  of  the  hounds  in. 

The  trail  led  directly  up  to  this  hole ;  but  the  tracks 
of  the  dogs  had  nearly  effaced  those  of  the  game.  Just 
inside  the  hole,  however,  there  were  visible  two  foot- 
prints, showing  the  marks  of  claws  as  large  as  the  palm 
of  one's  hand. 

There  was  little  doubt  that  the  animal  had  gone  in 
here. 


FOX-HUNTING.  167 

Kit  ventured  to  look  in. 

"  Gone  up,"  said  he.  "  There's  no  hole  down  into  the 
root." 

Tom  got  a  dry  sapling,  and  thrust  in  at  the  orifice. 
Momentarily  there  came  a  low,  fretful  growl ;  at  which 
the  hounds  burst  out  afresh. 

As  nearly  as  we  could  make  out  by  the  sound,  the  ani- 
mal was  up  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  inside  the  trunk,  which 
seemed  to  be  hollow. 

"  Have  to  cut  the  tree  down,"  Kit  observed. 

But,  as  the  birch  was  between  three  and  four  feet  in 
diameter,  this  promised,  in  view  of  its  gnarls,  to  be  no 
light  task.  Besides,  we  had  no  axe  with  us. 

"Let's  try  smoking  him,"  suggested  Tom  Edwards 
after  some  little -hesitation.  That  might  do;  but  we  were 
not  very  confident  of  it. 

A  pile  of  the  dry,  roughly-curled  bark  was  pulled  off, 
and  thrust  into  the  orifice.  A  match  was  produced. 

"  I  don't  know  about  this,"  objected  Kit,  with  a  glance 
toward  the  barge,  where  the  girls  sat  watching  us,  —  a 
little  anxiously,  I  suspect.  "  If  the  smoke  should  bring 
him  out,  and  we  should  have  a  real  scrimmage  with  him 
here,  firing  the  guns  and  hallooing,  it  might  scare  the 
horses.  They  might  get  the  better  of  Jule.  Some  of 
us  ought  to  go  stand  by  them." 

I  at  once  volunteered  to  do  so. 

I  think  Mr.  Graves  had  it  in  mind  to  offer  his  services ; 
but  I  got  ahead  of  him.  Hand-to-hand  encounters  with 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  forests  were  never  much  to  my 
liking.  There  was  no  knowing  what  sort  of  a  beast 
there  might  be  up  in  the  tree.  One  thing  was  certain : 


168  FOX-HUNTING. 

he  had  made  a  good-sized  track.  On  the  whole,  I 
thought  I  should  prefer  seeing  Mr.  Graves  contend  with 
him,  while  I  protected  the  ladies.  Going  hastily  back 
to  the  barge,  I  got  into  the  driver's  place,  and  assumed 
the  reins. 

"  I  hope  you  don't  think  you  can  hold  'em  if  I  can't  ?  " 
quoth  Jule  ironically. 

This  was  touching  me  on  a  tender  spot ;  hut  I  hogged 
her  to  keep  her  seat  heside  me,  and  so  lend  me  her  pow- 
erful aid  in  case  I  should  prove  incompetent.  She 
thanked  me  very  much ;  but  she  didn't  think  that  seat 
was  wide  enough  for  both  of  us. 

I  begged  her  to  forget  the  past. 

She  said  she  retained  a  too  vivid  recollection  of  it. 
Then  we  changed  the  subject. 

I  explained  the  smoking  project  in  a  word.  Indeed,  it 
needed  but  little  explanation  ;  for  a  brisk  smoke  was 
already  curling  up  around  the  birch,  and  we  could  see 
the  boys  standing  at  a  little  distance,  —  Wash  and  Kit 
with  their  guns,  the  others  with  clubs.  The  hounds 
were  yelping,  and  running  about.  We  could  hear  the 
fire  crackle  plainly.  The  boys  stood  quiet  and  on 
guard. 

For  some  minutes  the  animal  gave  no  sign.  Then,  on 
a  sudden,  we  heard  a  harsh  snarl  from  the  tree. 

"  He's  coming  !  "  Tom  was  heard  to  exclaim. 

A  rumbling,  scrambling  noise  ;  and  there  bobbed  out 
amid  the  smoke  and  dust  a  black  creature  seemingly  as 
large  as  one  of  the  hounds.  A  shout  arose.  Wash 
and  Kit  both  fired  on  the  instant.  Then  the  hounds 
rushed  in,  and  after  them  the  boys. 


FOX-HUNTESTG.  169 

The  horses,  rearing  and  plunging,  now  took  my  atten- 
tion. The  girls  were  screaming,  "Oh,  oh,  oh!"  The 
next  I  saw  of  the  black  creature,  it  was  running  almost 
directly  for  us,  taking  long  leaps,  with  the  hounds  and 
boys  at  its  heels.  Then  there  was  screaming  from  the 
barge. 

And  the  screaming  stood  us  in  good  stead  that  time ; 
for  the  beast  heard  it,  and  turned  aside.  Probably  it  had 
not  noticed  the  team  before  ;  for  it  instantly  swerved  to 
the  north,  and,  entering  the  "  logging-road  "  a  few  rods 
above  where  we  were  standing,  ran  on,  following  the  road, 
with  the  hounds  close  upon  it.  But  it  did  not  run  far. 
The  dogs  were  almost  grappling  with  it  at  every  leap. 
A  hundred  yards  farther  up,  it  sprang  to  the  trunk  of  a 
great  hemlock  standing  close  beside  the  road,  and  ran  up 
into  the  thick  top  with  a  great  scratching  and  tearing  of 
the  rough  bark. 

As  it  went  up  the  trunk,  Kit,  from  far  behind,  let  drive 
the  second  barrel  of  the  shot-gun  ;  without  effect  appar- 
ently, for  the  animal  instantly  disappeared  amid  the 
dense  boughs  of  the  hemlock-top. 

I  had  started  up  the  horses,  and  drove  on  toward  the 
tree,  till  implored  not  to  go  "  another  yard  nearer  the 
dreadful  creature." 

The  girls  reckoned  on  nothing  less  than  its  eating 
them  all  up. 

The  boys  were  reconnoitring  the  hemlock  ;  but  so 
thick  were  the  evergreen-boughs,  that  nothing  could  be 
seen  of  the  game.  It  had  gained  a  lofty  perch,  and  was 
keeping  quiet.  Tom  and  Wade  threw  clubs ;  and  Wash 
fired  the  rifle  twice  into  the  top.  Nothing  stirred. 


170  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Shall  have  to  cut  it  down,"  Kit  observed  ;  and,  after 
some  deliberation,  Emery  was  sent  out  to  the  main  road 
to  borrow  an  axe  of  some  of  the  lumbermen. 

"  You  see,"  explained  Kit,  coming  out  to  the  barge, 
"the  old  chap  doubled  so  quick,  that  we  both  missed 
him." 

We  had  seen  that  something  of  that  sort  had  hap- 
pened. "  It  was  very  curious,"  the  girls  said. 

Emery  soon  made  his  appearance.  He  had  found  an 
axe  sticking  in  a  log  beside  the  road  :  he  hadn't  stopped 
to  hunt  up  the  owner.  Tom  "  fastened  "  upon  the  axe, 
and  fell  to  chopping  into  the  hemlock.  He  soon  opened 
a  broad  white  scarf. 

Then  Kit  took  a  turn  ;  then  Emery. 

Wash  and  Wade  watched  the  top  to  give  notice  if 
the  creature  should  take  a  notion  to  come  down  on  the 
choppers. 

Tom  had  the  last  cut.  The  great  tree  began  to  crack 
and  totter. 

"  Be  ready !  "  cried  Wash.    Wade  had  taken  the  rifle. 

The  animal  felt  the  motion.  It  leaped  out  of  the 
top  as  the  tree  fell,  and  came  whirling  downward  with 
its  paws  spread  out.  Striking  into  the  snow,  it  turned 
several  somersets,  the  velocity  had  been  so  great. 

Wade  and  Kit  both  fired  at  the  same  moment. 

A  frightful  yell  resounded  above  all  the  clamor  the 
dogs  were  making.  The  wounded  beast  rose  to  its  feet, 
and  jumped  savagely  at  Tom,  who  was  closing  in  on  him 
with  the  axe.  But  Kit  was  at  hand  with  the  other  bar- 
rel of  the  shot-gun,  and  fired  it  into  the  creature's  head. 
Tom  paid  on  with  the  axe. 


FOX-HUNTING.  171 

Even  then  it  was  very  loa.th  to  die  ;  and  it  took  a  good 
deal  of  thorough  "pounding"  to  finish  it. 

Tom  dragged  it  along  to  the  barge. 

Its  body  was  nearly  four  feet  long,  but  rather  slini. 
The  legs  were  short,  with  large  feet,  and  very  long,  sharp 
claws.  The  head  was  rather  long  than  round,  with 
small  ears.  The  tail  was  long  and  bushy.  In  fact,  the 
whole  body  was  shaggy,  being  covered  with  long  hair  of 
a  dull  black  color. 

Tom  and  Kit  pronounced  it  a  "  fisher." 

The  girls  eyed  it  with  large-eyed  horror.  The  sight 
of  its  unclosed  eyes  and  gory  head  made  them  shudder, 
almost  shriek. 

"  Oh  the  fearful  creature ! "  quavered  Miss  Kate. 
"  What  were  such  dreadful  things  created  for  ?  " 

"  To  catch  hares,"  suggested  Kit  ingenuously. 

Jule  burst  out  laughing :  for  her  part,  she  did  not 
"  care  for  it,  now  it  was  dead." 

But  Miss  Nell  wouldn't  believe  it  was  dead,  because 
it  had  its  eyes  open ;  and  Miss  Elsie  felt  very  sure  it 
would  yet  "  come  to  life  again,"  and  jump  at  us. 

By  way  of  satisfying  them,  Wash  fired  another  bullet 
through  its  head.  Upon  that  they  called  him  a  horrid 
cruel  fellow ;  and  they  would  neither  look  at  him  nor  the 
"poor  abused  creature  another  single  moment." 

That's  what  he  got  for  trying  to  quiet  their  fears. 

And  "  Oh,  no-no-no! "  they  would  not  let  Kit  and  Tom 
put  it  in  the  hind-part  of  the  barge.  They  wouldn't 
ride  with  the  horrid,  poor  thing !  Two  bullets  through 
its  skull  and  a  dozen  buck-shot  in  its  body  were  no 
proper  guaranty  that  it  wouldn't  get  up  and  bite  any 
moment. 


172  FOX-HUNTING. 

So  we  left  Emery  to  skin  it  on  the  spot,  and  take  the 
skin  home  across  the  pastures. 

Altogether,  this  was  the  most  exciting  of  our  barge 
performances. 


CHAPTER   XV. 


I  am  betrayed  into  contradicting  St.  Paul,  and  suffer  Amatory 
Decapitation;  but  am  constrained  to  vindicate  Miss  Kate.  —  I 
also  feel  the  Need  of  a  Change  of  Air.  —  Wash  and  Wade  con- 
sole me  with  Worldly-minded  Philosophy.  —  We  congratulate  Mr. 
Graves,  who  seeins  much  confused. 


r^T^HE  apostje  St.  Paul,  if  I  read  aright,  has  re- 
_L  peatedly  borne  witness  in  his  epistles  that  the 
Saviour  of  mankind  "was  in  all  points  tempted  as  we 
are" 

I  take  conscientious  exception  to  his  record.  I  have 
road  the  New-Testament  history  carefully  ;  and  I  no- 
where find  it  therein  recorded  that  our  Lord  (I  speak 
this  reverently)  ever  fell  in  love,  much  less  "  got  the 
mitten  ;"  and  I  do  sincerely  esteem  it  a  great  -human 
hardship  that  Christ's  earthly  experience  had  not  been 
made  to  cover  these  two  points. 

As  a  consequence,  the  sons  of  Adam  are  still  comfort- 
less on  those  two  essentially  human  trials.  The  cross 
offers  no  precedent,  the  gospel  no  consolation. 

There  may  be  those  who  will  consider  the  above  to  be 
strong  language;  but  I  do  assure  them  that  it  does 

173 


174  FOX-HUNTING. 

not  half  express  the  writer's  feelings  during  the  week 
following  the  fisher-hunt.  And,  lest  I  be  betrayed  into 
stronger  and  utterly  unpardonable  language,  I  beg  leave 
to  draw  a  veil,  or  rather  something  as  voluminous  as 
the  stage-curtain  at  the  Grand  Opcra-House,  over  that 
week.  (This  latter  covering,  in  fact,  would  be  much 
more  in  keeping  with  its  melodramatic  character.)  Let 
it  be  an  utter  blank.  ....... 

(The  reader  to  suppose  that  the  victim  was  quietly 
shoved  into  the  guillotine,  and  that  the  axe  fell  without 
sticking  once.) 

It  is  difficult,  very  difficult,  for  a  young  man  to  do 
justice  to  the  young  lady  who  has  candidly — albeit  as 
gently  as  possible  —  bidden  him  go  about  his  business. 
From  the  beauteous  angel  of  his  ardent  dreams  she  is 
suddenly  transformed  into  a  supercilious  Gorgon,  who 
has  turned  his  wildly-beating  heart  to  stone.  (It  is  of 
no  use  to  be  frugal  of  metaphor  on  themes  like  this.) 
But  I  ana  in  honor  bound  to  do  Miss  Kate  justice  :  and 
so,  resisting  that  strong  tendency  to  call  her  a  "  fickle 
jade  "  and  an  "arrant  flirt"  which  often  sways  the  great 
masculine  mind  at  such  mortifying  junctures,  let  me 
discharge  the  duty  briefly;  and,  that  I  may  discharge 
it  the  more  briefly,  I  may  be  allowed  to  do  so  in  three 
single  statements :  — 

1.  I  am  now  quite  convinced  that  my  court  was 
paid  entirely  on  my  own  responsibility.  The  lady  did 
not  encourage  it.  Perhaps  she  did  not  repel  it :  it  was 
not  much  in  her  nature  to  repel.  Very  likely  she  en- 
joyed admiration,  as  every  lady  ought. 


FOX-HUNTING.  175 

2.  Under  the  rather    peculiar  circumstances  of  the 
case,   I   do  not   see  how   she  could  have   done    hetter 
than  let  matters  take  their  course.     I  am   willing   to 
admit  it. 

3.  She  treated  me  fully  as  leniently  as  I  deserved. 
My  thanks  for  the  same. 

At  whatever  sacrifice  of  personal  feeling,  the  above 
statements  shall  stand. 

But  the  rebuff  was  none  the  less  a  bitterly  hard  one. 
I  suppose  Wash  and  Wade  had,  in  their  turn,  felt  much 
the  same :  only  I  am  sure  that  their  grief  was  not  nearly 
as  poignant  as  mine.  It  is  rare  that  anybody  else's  suf- 
ferings come  up  to  one's  own.  Under  such  trials,  a 
change  of  air  and  scenery  is  doubtless  beneficial  for  a 
young  fellow  :  he  often  instinctively  longs  for  it.  Thus 
Wash  had  longed,  and,  after  him,  Wade.  Biography  as 
well  as  history  is  continually  repeating  itself.  That  next 
morning  after  —  after  the  fall  of  the  axe  above  hinted 
at,  I  was  quite  determined  to  leave  town  without 
any  unnecessary  delay.  I  had  not  slept  so  soundly  as 
usual,  and,  rising  rather  early,  sat  down  by  the  window, 
and  engaged  in  a  serious  contemplation  of  the  lake. 

Presently  Wash  waked  up.  He  seemed  a  little  sur- 
prised to  find  me  stirring. 

"  Breakfast,  is  it  ?  "  he  exclaimed. 

"Not  yet,"  said  I. 

"  Oh  !  "  said  he.  "  I  thought  maybe  I  had  overslept 
myself."  And  he  yawned. 

"  Wash,"  said  I,  "  we've  been  up  here  a  good  while." 

"  Most  eight  weeks,"  remarked  Wash.  "  Had  some 
bully  sport ! " 


176  FOX-HUNTING. 

"Well  — yes,"  I  assented.  "But  don't  you  think 
we  had  better  be  getting  back  to  town  ?  " 

Something  about  this  simple  proposition  seemed  to 
strike  Wash  as  peculiar.  He  stopped  short  in  the  mid- 
dle of  a  yawn,  and,  getting  immediately  up  on  one 
elbow,  surveyed  ine  attentively.  Then  he  began  to 
grin,  then  to  laugh. 

Such  levity  is  always  embarrassing. 

I  observed  that  I  didn't  see  the  joke. 

Wasli  got  up  in  end,  and  cackled  like  a  great  sense- 
less drake. 

Wade  heard  the  outcry,  and  poked  in  his  head  at  the 
door.  Luckily,  Kit  had  already  gone  down-stairs. 

"  Another  yachter  ashore  on  that  dangerous  coast !  " 
Wash  bleated  out. 

Wade  eyed  me  a  moment ;  then  he  began  to  cackle. 
The  insensate  idiots ! 

Then  they  both  began  to  pat  me  encouragingly  on 
the  back.  When  it  comes  to  that,  a  fellow  has  either 
got  to  slay  his  tormentors,  or  take  the  joke. 

"  Wants  to  go  home  to  see  his  mother,  poor  little 
boy  ! "  cried  Wash. 

It  was  perfectly  maddening.  What  a  pleasure  to 
have  cracked  their  heads ! 

"  You've  both  been  in  the  same  pickle  ahead  of  me ! " 
I  retorted. 

"Certainly! — of  course  we  have!"  cried  Wade. 
"  And  you're  number  three  !  "  "  Oho  !  "  and  "  Haw, 
haw,  haw  !  " 

They  were  both  vastly  amused. 

"  Now  we're  equal  ! "  exclaimed  Wash.  "  One  ques- 
tion, Raed.  Is  it  Graves  ?  " 


FOX-HUXTING.  177 

"  Graves  what  ?  "  said  I  perversely. 

"  Is  it  Graves,  —  the  man  what's  shelved  us  ?  Did 
she  disclose  ?  " 

I  utterly  declined  to  enter  upon  the  suhject.  I  had 
no  doubt  it  was  the  "  Freshman." 

"That's  what  I  think ! "  exclaimed  Wash. 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Wade. 

"  Confound  him  !  "  I  could  not  help  muttering. 

"  Oh,  now !  none  of  that,  my  son !"  cried  Wash.  "No 
use  to  sour  your  stomach  with  such  stuff  as  that.  The 
time's  gone  by  when  one  young  gentleman  could  call 
out  another,  and  stick  a  rapier  in  his  gizzard,  or  shoot 
a  bullet  through  his  head.  And  I  am  very  glad  it  has. 
Everybody  now  has  a  fair  chance  in  the  world  with 
the  rest  of  humanity.  If  Miss  Edwards  likes  the 
looks  of  Graves  better  than  she  does  us,  and  honestly 
prefers  him  to  any  one  of  us,  —  why,  all  right,  I  say. 
We've  nobody  to  blame  but  ourselves,  anyway.  What's 
the  use  to  growl  over  it,  and  sour  our  minds  hating  him? 
All  nonsense !  He's  just  as  good  a  right  here  as  we 
have ;  and,  if  he  is  a  better  man  in  Miss  Kate's  eyes, 
so  much  the  better  for  him  !  " 

"  Oh  !  that's  all  very  nice  talk  for  you  two  now,"  I 
said  ;  "  but,  a  month  ago,  you  sung  a  different  tune." 

"  Admit  it ;  you're  right,"  said  Wade.  "  All  very 
foolish  !  No  use  to  pipe  a  fellow's  eyes  because  there 
are  better  men  in  the  world  than  himself." 

"We  took  the  chance,"  remarked  Wash.  "  I  knew 
'twas  a  toss-up  in  the  first  place.  We've  lost.  The 
only  thing  for  us  to  do  now  is  to  get  out  of  Graves's  way 
as  politely  as  possible.  What's  the  use  to  owe  him  a 

12 


178  FOX-HUNTING. 

grudge  ?  —  it  would  hurb  us  more  than  it  would  him. 
The  best  way  is  to  laugh  at  it,  and  think  no  more  about 
it." 

"  Breakfast !  "  shouted  Kit  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs. 

We  hurriedly  finished  dressing,  and  started  down- 
stairs. The  Freshman  was  just  coming  out  of  his  room 
into  the  hall. 

"Good-morning,  Graves  !"  saluted  Wash.  "We  all 
three  beg  leave  to  congratulate  you." 

"  What ! "  said  Graves  uncomprehendingly. 

"  To  congratulate  you,"  repeated  Wash.  "  We  are 
satisfied  that  you  have  won" 

Graves  looked  a  good  deal  confused  and  surprised. 

"  So  accept  our  best  wishes,"  continued  Wash  ;  "  and 
may  the  lady  always  be  happy  !  " 

Graves  did  not  know  what  to  say.  Finally  he  re- 
marked that  we  were  very  obliging. 

"Obliging!"  cried  Wash.  "Of  course  we  are  obli- 
ging. We've  no  thoughts  of  turning  green  with  envy." 

All  through  breakfast,  the  Freshman  seemed  a  good 
deal  muddled ;  and  he  went  off  to  school  with  doubt  and 
surprise  in  his  face. 

At  noon  I  noticed  that  he  had  brightened  some- 
what. 

At  night  he  hovered  about  Miss  Kate. 

The  rest  of  us  kept  our  distance. 

It  is  pretty  hard  to  meet  a  young  lady  who  has  re- 
fused one  over  night,  —  meet  her  in  general  society,  I 
mean,  —  and  greet  her  properly.  But,  thanks  to  the  phi- 
losophy with  which  my  comrades  had  indoctrinated  me 
in  the  morning,  I  acquitted  myself  tolerably  well :  least 
I  hope  I  did. 


FOX-HUNTING.  179 

But  it  does  take  a  good  deal  of  Christianity  to  carry 
off  a  thing  of  that  kind,  and  not  do  something  foolish. 
All  a  fellow's  weak  points  crop  out  on  such  an  occasion. 
The  chances  are  that  he  will  make  a  donkey  of  himself. 
Either  he  will  sneak  off  unbeknown,  or  else  stay  and  be 
harsh,  or  perhaps  pert,  to  the  lady.  Pert,  of  all  things ! 
As  if  a  pretty  girl  did  not  have  trouble  enough  with 
refusing  the  purely  selfish  addresses  of  a  dozen  young- 
sters, without  their  being  pert  to  her.  The  young  igno- 
ramuses ! 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

We  go  on  a  Moose-Hunt.  —  A  Thirteen-mile  Tramp.  —  A  Logger's 
Camp.  —  The  Party  from  Mattawamkeag.  —  Monson,  Jake, 
and  "  Louis."  —  A  "  Moose  -Yard."  —  "  Driving  in  a  Moose."  — 
We  buy  instead  of  capturing  a  Moose.  —  "  Breaking  "  the  Ani- 
mal.—  A  Novel  Sled.  —  Harnessing  a  Moose.  —  We  ride 
Home.  —  The  very  Abrupt  Departure  of  the  Freshman. 

HOW  far  Kit  understood  or  appreciated  the  pres- 
ent rather  rich  status  of  things,  I  cannot  say. 
Since  our  conversation  in  the  sitting-room  nearly  a 
month  previously,  he  seemed  to  have  determined  to 
notice  nothing ;  but,  that  he  was  inwardly  astonished 
and  chagrined  at  the  way  his  three  comrades  were  going 
on,  I  somehow  inferred.  As  a  result  of  mature  delib- 
eration, perhaps,  he  now  proposed  a  moose-hunt. 

A  lumberman  qoming  down  to  the  settlement  from 
a  logger's  camp  in  the  woods,  twenty  miles  to  the  north- 
ward, had  seen  two  moose  on  a  birch  slope  to  the  north 
of  a  small  lake :  whence  he  inferred  that  there  was, 
or  rather  would  be,  a  "  moose-yard  "  not  far  from  there 
as  the  snow  got  deeper. 

To  hunt  these  moose  was  Kit's  present  project. 

We  hailed  the  proposal. 
180 


FOX-HUNTING.  181 

Four  pairs  of  rackets  (snow-shoes)  were  purchased  of 
an  old  basket-maker  living  near  the  "store:"  and  a 
day  was  spent  by  Wash,  Wade,  and  myself,  learning  to 
walk  on  them  ;  Kit  being  our  instructor.  It  was  rather 
awkward  business  at  first;  but  we  "got  the  'hang'  of 
it "  after  a  few  preliminary  walks,  and,  the  next  morning, 
set  off  on  the  hunt.  Emery  took  us  up  to  the  end  of 
the  road,  five  miles  above  the  farm,  in  the  barge. 

Tom  Edwards  could  not  well  leave  school,  especially 
as  this  was  the  last  week  of  the  term,  and  an  exhibition 
was  pending. 

We  carried,  in  two  small  baskets,  cooked  provisions 
for  three  days.  These,  with  the  two  guns  and  a  hatchet, 
made  up  our  luggage. 

Beyond  the  point  where  the  public  way  terminated, 
an  unused  "winter  road"  led  off  to  the  north-west. 
This  winter  road  had,  a  few  years  previously,  been  used 
in  conducting  lumbering  operations  thirteen  miles  above. 
At  its  upper  terminus,  Kit  informed  us,  there  was  a 
"logging-camp,"  where  a  party  had  passed  the  winter 
of  1867  or  18G8.  He  proposed  to  follow  up  this  road 
to  the  camp,  and  there  pass  our  first  night.  This  camp 
he  calciilated  to  be  about  three  miles  from  the  lake 
where  the  lumberman  had  seen  the  moose.  In  the 
morning,  therefore,  we  could  sally  out  on  the  hunt,  and 
either  steal  upon  the  yard,  or  else,  in  event  of  startling 
the  animals,  chase  them  with  old  "  Jim  "  (we  had  not 
taken  the  other  two  hounds). 

After  parting  from  the  barge,  we  proceeded  along  the 
winter  road,  on  rackets,  at  a  clumsy  pace.  It  was  a  mere 
trail,  just  wide  enough  for  a  loaded  sled  to  be  driven 


182  FOX-HUNTING. 

between  the  great  trunks  of  maple,  birch,  and  hem- 
lock. 

Of  that  thirteen-miles'  tramp  through  this  grand  old 
forest,  I  might,  consulting  my  inclination,  fill  a  chapter ; 
yet,  in  doing  so,  I  should  but  intrench  upon  better  de- 
scription of  the  same  scenery,  given  by  my  friend  Kit 
m  a  previous  volume. 

All  day  long  we  tramped  leisurely  on,  inhaling  with 
the  keen  air  that  sense  of  sombre  vastness  which  the 
unbroken  forest  always  inspires. 

We  halted  but  an  hour,  a  little  after  noon,  for  a  lunch  ; 
yet  it  was  nearly  sunset  ere  we  came  out  in  sight  of  the 
old  log-camp.  Greatly  to  our  surprise,  there  was  a 
smoke  arising  from  the  stone  chimney. 

"  Confounl  it!"  muttered  Kit.  "There's  a  party  in 
here  ahead  of  us." 

"  What's  it  best  to  do  ?  "  questioned  Wash. 

"  Oh,  we  must  make  the  best  of  it ! "  growled  Kit. 
"We  must  take  pot -luck  with  them  to-night.  .  .  . 
Humph !  Isn't  this  too  plaguy  bad !  " 

It  was  enough  to  vex  the  saints,  much  less  a  party  of 
amateur  hunters. 

In  no  very  good  humor  we  tramped  up  to  the  door  of 
the  shanty.  Kit  pushed  it  in. 

Three  men  were  sitting  round  a  bit  of  board  set  on 
a  bolt  of  wood,  eating  a  lunch.  One  of  them  was  a 
strange,  tawny-looking  fellow.  As  Kit  pushed  the  door 
open,  they  all  three  jumped  up ;  and  one  of  them  reached 
for  a  gun. 

"Oh,  don't  be  scared!"  shouted  Kit.  "Don't  be  so 
handy  with  your  gun  ! " 


FOX-HUNTING.  183 

"  What's  wanted  ?  "  one  of  the  men  demanded. 

Kit  told  him  shortly  that  we  were  up  there  to  hunt 
moose,  and  had  come  to  the  camp  to  stay  over  night. 

"  Well,  we're  ahead  of  ye  on  them  moose,"  said  the 
man,  whose  name  we  afterwards  learned  to  be  Monson. 
"  We've  jest  shot  one,  an'  driv'  in  another." 

"  Driven  it  in  alive  ! "  exclaimed  Wash. 

"Yeus,  ser." 

"  Why,  where  have  you  put  it  ? "  I  asked  in  some 
astonishment. 

"Wai,  that's  none  of  yer  business,  youngster,"  re- 
plied the  man  surlily.  But,  after  a  keen  look  at  us,  he 
seemed  to  think  better  of  his  suspicions.  "  We  chucked 
him  into  the  ox-shed  out  here,"  he  explained. 

A  large  white-and-tan  hound  had  risen  up,  growling 
at  us,  and,  catching  sight  of  Jim  outside,  dashed  out 
past  us.  Jim  was  of  a  disposition  that  never  declined 
a  fight.  They  fell  upon  each  other  tooth  and  nail.  We 
all  had  our  hands  full  to  get  them  apart ;  and,  during 
the  scuffle,  we  seemed  somehow  to  get  better  acquainted. 

"That's  a  fine  dog  o'  yourn,"  remarked  Monsoii  when 
at  length  the  combatants  were  dragged  apart. 

Wash  returned  the  compliment. 

Then  one  of  the  other  men,  whom  his  comrades  called 
"  Jake,"  said  we  had  better  come  in,  and  that  we  were 
welcome  to  one  side  of  the  camp. 

The  other  coppery-looking  chap  was  an  Indian,  —  a 
"  P'nobscot ; "  so  Monson  explained  to  us  the  next  day. 
He  flourished  under  the  kingly  name  of  "  Louis,"  — 
Louis  simply,  as  independent  of  surname  as  a  Bourbon. 
He  spoke  rather  indifferent  English,  but  redeemed  that 


184  FOX-HUNTING. 

fault  by  speaking  very  little  of  it.  A  very  silent  chap 
was  Louis. 

This  party  were  from  Mattawamkeag.  They  had 
come  in  here  the  day  before. 

It  would  seem  that  the  lumberman  had  told  others 
about  the  moose  he  had  seen. 

They  had  found  the  yard.  There  were  three  moose 
in  it;  and  they  had  succeeded  in  shooting  one  before 
the  creatures  broke  out  of  the  yard.  Another  they  had 
chased  with  their  hound ;  and,  the  snow  being  now  nearly 
'  four  feet  deep  up  here  in  the  woods,  they  had  at  length 
"tuckered  "  him  down,  surrounded  him,  and  driven  him 
in  to  camp  ahead  of  them.  Kit  informs  me  that  it  is 
no  unusual  thing  to  capture  moose,  and  even  caribou, 
in  this  way.  So  utterly  tired  out  had  the  animal  be- 
come as  to  offer  but  slight  resistance,  when  the  hunters 
threw  a  rope  over  its  antlers,  and  dragged  it  into  the 
ox-shed,  where  they  had  made  it  fast. 

Moose-hunters  generally  prefer  to  "  drive  in "  the 
game  whenever  they  can;  since  it  saves  them  the  labor 
of  carrying  it  to  camp. 

The  yard  where  they  had  surprised  the  moose,  Mori- 
son  told  us,  was  of  about  four  acres'  extent,  with  paths, 
trodden  hard,  extending  all  over  it.  All  the  shrubbery 
had  been  cropped,  and  many  of  the  trees  gnawed  bare 
of  their  bark. 

The  above  was  the  substance  of  our  evening's  conver- 
sation with  the  hunting-party. 

That  night  we  passed  on  a  "shakedown"  of  spruce- 
boughs  strewn  on  the  "  other  side  "  of  the  log-camp. 

Like    ourselves,  our  new  acquaintances  had  brought 


FOX-HUNTING.  185 

their  "  grub  "  with  them,  all  cooked,  save  some  salt  pork, 
which  they  fried  next  morning,  making  so  villanous  a 
stench  of  "rank  hog,"  that  we  were  glad  to  turn  out 
for  a  whiff  of  "  God's  pure  oxygen." 

Partly  lest  the  hunters  should  take  it  amiss,  and 
partly  from  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  we  had  refrained 
from  going  out  where  the  moose  was  the  previous  even- 
ing. 

"We  now  curiously  approached  the  "  shed,"  —  a  rough 
structure  of  logs.  Jake  followed  us  out. 

"  Would  ye  like  to  see  the  critter  ?  "  said  he. 

We  said  we  should. 

Jake  went  round  to  the  farther  side,  and  cautiously 
opened  a  heavy  door  of  cleated  planks.  We  as  cautious- 
ly peered  in. 

A  great,  black,  shaggy,  ungainly  animal,  haltered  to 
a  poet,  made  a  vault,  and  struggled  ponderously.  But 
.its  legs  were  fettered  with  strong  ropes,  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  prevent  its  thrashing  about.  After  struggling 
furiously  a  few  seconds,  it  cast  itself  recklessly  down 
on  to  the  floor  of  the  shed,  gritting  its  yellow-white 
tushes,  rolling  its  eyes  about,  and  giving  vent  to  a  loud, 
hideous  bellow.  'Twas  truly  a  savage  sight. 

"Feels  pretty  ramptious  this  morning!"  exclaimed 
Jake.  "  Got  over  his  tired  a  little,  ye  see." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  him  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Going  to  butcher  him,  of  course,"  replied  Jake; 
"  though  Monson  thinks  we  may  be  able  to  harness 
him  into  our  sled,  and  so  make  him  draw  the  carcass 
of  t'other  one  down  to  the  settlement.  We'd  keep  holt 
of  the  ropes,  ye  know,  and  one  of  us  brad  him  along." 


186  FOX-HTTNTING. 

I  did  not  believe  they  would  be  able  to  make  him 
work  at  all.  But  Kit  said  he  had  heard  of  such  a  thing 
being  done,  and  that  he  had  himself  once  taken  a  ride 
after  a  moose ;  some  account  of  which  he  has  kindly 
written  out  for  the  "  Notes  "  to  the  present  narrative. 

"Something  quar  about  this  'ere  moose,"  continued 
Jake.  "Look  at  tham  horns!  They  ginerally  shed 
tham  in  December ;  but  this  'ere  one  hain't.  There's 
a  pair  of  horns  for  ye  ! " 

The  moose's  antlers  were  immensely  lofty  and  branch- 
ing. I  thought  they  must  have  measured  fully  four 
feet  across  the  top  of  them.  It  was  certainly  about 
the  ugliest,  most  ungainly  brute  I  had  ever  beheld. 
Indeed,  I  could  never  have  imagined  any  thing  half  so 
enormously  awkward. 

"What  could  Nature  have  been  thinking  of  when  she 
turned  out  that  specimen  ?  "  was  Wade's  comment. 

Jake  said  the  animal  would  weigh  eleven  hundred. 
Its  fore-legs  were  considerably  longer  than  its  hind- 
legs,  which,  together  with  its  lofty  antlers,  gave  it  some- 
thing of  the  aspect  of  a  camelopard.  But  any  thing 
like  the  awful  homeliness  of  its  snout  and  "  muffle " 
could  never  be  imitated,  I  am  confident. 

We  went  in  to  breakfast,  —  such  as  we  had. 

"  It  will  be  rather  mortifying  to  tramp  back  without 
any  game,"  Wash  remarked ;  "  for,  of  course,  it's  of  no 
use  for  us  to  go  any  farther." 

There  was  the  silence  of  general  assent. 

"This  going  home  empty-handed  is  what  gets  me!" 
Wash  went  on  discontentedly.  "What  will  the  girls 
say  to  us  ?  What  will  the  Freshman  say  ?  " 


FOX-HUNTING.  187 

"Don't  you  suppose  we  might  buy  this  moose  of 
these  chaps  ?  "  Wade  queried. 

"But  how  could  we  get  him  home  ?  "  I  objected. 

"  Why  couldn't  we  drive  him  as  well  as  this  Mon- 
son  ?  "  demanded  Wash.  "  And  wouldn't  it  be  sport  ? 
Wouldn't  the  folks  stare  some  ?  " 

It  was  a  very  stimulating  project.  We  resolved  to 
buy  the  moose,  if  possible ;  and  accordingly  went  out 
where  Monson  and  his  confreres  were  at  work  on  a  sort 
of  rough  sled  to  haul  their  meat  on. 

Kit  began  by  asking  them  how  much  they  expected 
to  get  for  these  moose  apiece. 

Well,  about  fifty  dollars,  they  hoped,  —  somewhere 
from  forty  to  fifty. 

Said  Kit,  "  We  will  give  you  forty  dollars  for  the  live 
one,  and  risk  it."  Monson  looked  up ;  then  at  his  fellow- 
hunters.  They  nodded.  "  Done  !"  said  he.  And  they 
all  seemed  very  well  satisfied  as  we  handed  out  the 
money,  —  ten  dollars  apiece. 

They  were  honest  fellows  enough ;  for  they  offered, 
of  their  own  accord,  to  finish  for  us  the  rude  sled  they 
were  at  work  on. 

This  sled  was  a  curiously  primitive  contrivance.  It 
was  nearly  twelve  feet  in  length  by  four  in  width. 
The  "  shoes "  were  of  maple  (a  sapling  split  at  the 
heart  into  halves),  the  beams  of  rough  spruce,  and  the 
cross-bars  of  ash.  It  was  mainly  fastened  by  means 
of  withs  of  birch,  and  notches.  The  shoes  were  very 
wide  (five  or  six  inches),  to  prevent  it  from  cutting 
into  the  snow.  Two  immense  thills  of  horn-beam  were 
fastened  to  the  "  roll "  in  front  j  and  a  log,  hewn  square 


188  FOX-HUNTING. 

on  two  sides,  laid  across  for  a  seat,  and  securely  withed 
in  place.  A  rough  fender  was  extemporized  of  a  few 
bits  of  old  board  lying  about  the  camp. 

Meanwhile  Kit  was  making  a  draught  "collar "for 
the  moose.  It  was  nothing  less  than  a  maple-crotch, 
to  go,  forks  down,  over  the  animal's  withers,  like  a  hog- 
yoke,  and  be  confined  underneath  by  withs.  To  this 
collar  the  thills  were  to  be  fastened  by  ropes.  Two 
more  ropes,  tied  halter-wise  around  the  brute's  snout, 
were  to  be  used  as  reins,  — the  one  passing  through  the 
right  branch  of  the  antlers,  the  other  through  the  left. 

During  the  afternoon,  we  undertook  to  "  break  "  the 
animal.  After  a  great  deal  of  snorting  and  thrashing, 
we  got  him  out ;  all  seven  of  us  holding  on  by  the 
various  halters  with  which  we  had  secured  him.  But 
the  headstrong  brute  would  have  broken  loose  from  us, 
had  not  his  legs  been  fettered,  I  am  quite  sure.  Worse 
still,  he  would  rush  at  us,  "with  murder  in  his  eye," 
full  tilt.  Finally  Monson  got  out  of  all  patience,  and, 
cutting  a  pole,  laid  on  to  the  vicious  beast  till  he  whined 
for  quarter. 

Then,  holding  by  the  halters,  we  had  Louis  go  behind 
him  with  a  goad-stick  which  some  teamster  had  left  in 
the  ox-shed,  and  brad  him  up  ;  and  in  this  way  drove 
him  through  the  snow  up  to  his  belly,  back  and  forth, 
—  by  way  of  "  breaking  him  "  to  harness.  It  was  rough 
sport,  dangerous  enough  to  be  vastly  exciting,  and,  but 
for  its  cruelty,  amusing. 

As  it  was  now  too  late  in  the  day  to  return  down  to 
the  neighborhood  with  so  novel  a  team,  we  passed  a 
second  night  at  the  camp  much  as  we  had  passed  the 
first. 


FOX-HUNTING.  189 

I  well  recollect  the  bright  January  morning  follow- 
ing, and  the  struggle  we  had  to  "  tackle "  the  moose 
to  the  sled.  Jake  had  thrown  browse  into  the  shed 
the  evening  before ;  but  we  could  not  discover  that  the 
animal  had  eaten  any  of  it.  This  morning  he  was 
sullen  and  watchful.  By  the  liberal  exercise  of  our 
united  strength,  he  was  dragged  out  of  the  shed,  and 
the  "  collar "  put  on  him.  Then  came  a  series  of 
terrific  plunges,  which  were  finally  restrained  by  getting 
one  of  the. halters  round  a  tree-trunk,  and  drawing  him 
doivn,  or  rather  up,  to  the  tree  hard  and  fast.  Monson 
took  this  opportunity  to  give  the  savage  brute  another 
"poling." 

But  it  was  not  without  vast  difficulties  that  we  got 
the  thills  of  the  sled  down  over  his  back,  and  fastened 
to  the  collar,  and  the  reins  on  to  his  snout,  and  through 
his  antlers. 

Wash  undertook  to  do  the  driving  with  the  goad- 
stick,  and,  to  this  intent,  took  his  seat  in  the  middle  of 
the  squared  log.  %  Kit  and  I  did  the  reining.  He  held 
one  rope, —  the  left  one,  —  and  sat  on  the  left  side  of 
Wash  :  I  held  the  other,  and  sat  on  the  right  side.  By 
bracing  our  feet  sharply  against  the  roll  of  the  sled,  we 
thought  we  should  be  able  to  hold  the  moose  ;  but,  lest 
we  shouldn't,  Wade  was  stationed  on  the  hind-end  of  the 
slod,  with  rifle  loaded  and  cocked,  with  orders  to  shoot 
him  dead  in  case  he  was  like  to  get  the  better  of  us 
and  run  off  into  the  woods. 

A  running  noose  was  also  put  around  his  fore-legs 
up  near  his  body,  and  the  rope  passed  through  the  collar, 
and  trained  back  over  the  fender-board.  In  case  he 


100  FOX-HTTNTIXG. 

undertook  to  "bolt,  "Wash  was  to  drop  his  goad,  and  pull 
on  this  noose,  and,  by  fettering  his  legs,  throw  him  down, 
if  possible. 

With  these  beneficent  appliances  well  in  hand, 
Wash  essayed  to  "touch  him  up."  The  moose  gave  a 
squeal,  and  went  off  at  a  leap,  without  so  much  as  giving 
us  time  to  say  good-by  to  our  hunter  friends  ;  but  a 
peal  of  boisterous  haw-haws  came  hard  behind. 

By  pulling  and  sawing  at  the  ropes,  Kit  and  I  man- 
aged to  steer  him  into  the  "  winter  road."  The  creature 
at  once  began  to  run  in  a  ponderously  unwieldy  way,  and 
continued  running  on  fora  mile  or  over;  then,  all  of 
a  sudden,  stopped  short,  and  sulked.  No  amount  of 
spurring  would  suffice  to  make  him  budge  an  inch.  We 
worked  over  him  half  an  hour  or  more. 

Finally  Kit  lighted  a  roll  of  birch-bark,  and  applied 
the  blaze  to  his  stub  tail.  He  couldn't  stand  that,  and 
started  on  with  a  yerk  that  came  near  unseating  us  all. 

This  time  we  went  fully  two  miles  without  a  halt ;  then 
we  let  him  rest  fifteen  minutes :  but  we  had  to  start 
him  with  the  bark  again.  Of  course,  it  was  a  some- 
what cruel  method  of  procedure ;  but  nothing  less  would 
answer,  and  we  were  bound  to  make  him  go. 

For  the  last  seven  or  eight  miles  the  creature  would 
only  walk  sullenly  forward.  We  had  to  wallow  in  the 
snow,  holding  on  to  the  reins ;  for  we  did  not  dare  to 
get  on  our  snow-shoes. 

It  was  dusk  before  we  got  down  into  the  home  neigh- 
borhood. 

We  caught  sight  of  Rhoda's  amazed  little  face  at  one 
of  the  Edwards's  windows,  however ;  and  Tom  overtook 


FOX-HUNTING.  191 

us  before  -we  got  up  to  Kit's.  He  was  astonished, 
and  brimming  with  questions.  We  did  not  deem  it 
necessary  to  tell  him  that  we  had  obtained  the  moose 
by  purchase ;  and  he  took  it  for  granted  that  we  had 
actually  captured  him  ourselves. 

The  animal  was  now  so  supple  that  we  had  no  difficulty 
in  getting  him  out  of  the  thills,  and  into  the  pen  where 
the  "  fox-bait "  had  spent  the  last  week  or  two  of  its 
life. 

While  thus  engaged,  the  whole  family  had  come  out,  — 
Miss  Nell,  Miss  Wealthy,  even  "  grandmother." 

"  Where's  Graves  ?  "  exclaimed  Kit. 

"Mr.  Graves  has  gone,"  said  Nell. 

"  Gone  ! "  we  all  exclaimed.     "  Where  ?  " 

"  Gone  back  to  Brunswick,"  replied  Miss  Nell. 

"  Why,  school  only  finished  this  afternoon  ! "  cried 
Kit. 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Nell.  "  But  he  wouldn't  stop  over 
night.  He  closed  school  early,  in  time  to  take  the  after- 
noon stage.  It  was  really  too  bad,  I  think,  —  his  hurry- 
ing off  so  !  " 

And  the  girls  fell  to  wondering  at  the  moose,  and 
asking  a  hundred  questions,  some  of  which  we  found 
it  rather  difficult  to  answer. 

We  were  astonished  at  Mr.  Graves's  abrupt  departure. 
What  could  it  mean  ?  We  knew  the  college  term  had 
begun ;  but  certainly  there  could  have  been  no  such 
pressing  haste  as  this  necessary.  We  had  left  him 
apparently  enamoured  of  Miss  Kate ;  and  we  had  con- 
cluded he  would  be  in  no  hurry  to  leave  the  neighbor- 
hood, even  after  the  school  closed.  Indeed,  there  had 


192  FOX-HUNTING, 

been  something  said  of  his  spending  another  week 
with  us. 

Was  it  possible  that  the  Freshman  had  shared  defeat 
with  iis  in  his  attentions  to  Miss  Kate,  'and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, had  felt  that  unaccountable  need  of  a  change 
of  air  which  had  so  oppressed  us  each  in  turn  ? 

It  looked  a  little  like  that.  I  felt  very  curious  to 
know  ;  to  see  Miss  Kate.  I  think  we  all  did. 

After  getting  the  moose  into  the  pen,  we  set  in  a  tub 
of  water,  and  threw  into  the  rack  a  quantity  of  coarse 
clover-hay.  If  he  was  a  sensible  moose,  he  would  cer- 
tainly prefer  hay  to  browse  :  so  we  reasoned. 

But  next  morning  we  found  the  rack  untouched, 
though  the  creature  had  either  spilled  or  drank  a  part 
of  the  water. 

Still  hoping  to  suit  his  tastes,  we  felled  several  yellow 
birches  out  in  the  pasture,  and,  dragging  up  the  tops, 
nearly  filled  the  pen  with  the  green  brush.  The  sulky 
fellow  would  not  humor  us  to  eat  while  we  were  look- 
ing in. 

In  the  afternoon  we  harnessed  him  into  the  "  barge," 
and,  all  five  of  us  holding  hard,  took  a  ride  out  past  the 
Sylvesters',  by  way  of  showing  our  catch  to  Jule. 

Jule  was  enthusiastic  (not  to  me,  but  to  Wash),  and 
declared  we  ought  to  give  her  a  ride.  Kit  promised 
one  early  the- following  week, — as  soon  as  we  had  got 
him  fairly  broken. 

That  evening,  Tom  and  Miss  Kate  called;  but  noth- 
ing was  said  of  the  Freshman,  save  to  incidentally  regret 
his  abrupt  departure. 

I  thought  Kate  even  more  attractive  than  ever  before: 


FOX-HUNTING.  193 

we  were  none  of  us  likely  to  be  caught  a  second  time, 
however.  For  the  first  time  that  winter,  Tom  escorted 
his  sister  home  alone.  Kit  seemed  never  to  think  of 
such  a  thing. 

18 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


We  give  our  Fair  Companions  an  Invitation  to  ride  behind  a  "  Tame 
Moose."  —  We  meet  the  "  Morning  Stage."  —  A  Mutual  Panic. 
—  "Dagon"  runs  away  with  us.  —  A  Smash-up.  —  "Da^on" 
escapes,  after  shedding  his  Antlers.  —  All  Four  of  us  arrested.  — 
"  Trial-Justice  "  Hobbs.  —  Twenty  Dollars  and  Costs. 


next  day  was  Sunday,  the  quiet  sabbath  of 
JL  the  country.  The  poor  moose  had  a  twenty-four 
hours'  resting-spell  ;  and,  being  of  a  class  of  animals 
known  as  "ruminants,"  he  doubtless  ruminated  —  of 
the  bliss  of  domestication.  But  Monday  must  have  seri- 
ously broken  into  his  ruminations.  We  had  him  out 
betimes. 

With  the  rest  from  fatigues  had  come  a  return  of  his 
former  seditious  behavior.  At  the  first  plunge  he  came 
uncomfortably  near  our  friend  Tom's  head  with  his 
great  fore-hoofs. 

More  pole,  well  basted  in,  set  him  right  on  that  point. 
But  a  dangerous  roll  of  his  eyes  made  us  so  far  distrust 
him,  as  to  post  Wade,  rifle  in  hand,  in  the  rear  of  the 
"  barge,"  to  be  ready  for  emergencies.  No  occasion  for 
such  extreme  correction  arose,  however.  We  flattered 

194 


FOX-HUNTING.  195 

ourselves  that  four  hold  of  the  reins  were  a  little  too 
much  for  him. 

It  was,  of  course,  impossible  to  get  a  horse-collar  over 
his  antlers :  besides,  his  neck  was  too  thick.  But  an  old 
collar  was  cut  open  to  go  down  over  his  withers,  and  a 
pair  of  large-draught  "  hames  "  fitted  over  it. 

All  this  harnessing  had  to  be  done  with  the  utmost 
caution  and  dexterity ;  for  it  was  as  much  as  one's  neck 
was  worth  to  go  up  in  front  of  him.  One  thing  must 
be  mentioned  in  his  favor,  though  :  he  seemed  not  to 
have  the  least  idea  of  kicking.  Rearing  was  his  spe- 
ciality. 

Wash  named  him  Dagon,  from  the  great  god  of  the 
Philistines  :  wherefore,  I  know  not. 

We  kept  Dagon  going  up  and  down  the  most  of  the 
time  that  day  ;  and  by  night  he  did  seem  pretty  well 
broken :  though  it  was  still  a  rather  difficult  matter  to 
turn  him  or  engineer  him  at  a  "forks  "  of  the  road;  he 
always  wanted  to  take  the  wrong  fork. 

The  next  morning  (Tuesday),  we  gave  the  girls  an 
invitation  to  a  ride  behind  our  tame  moose. 

Mi*s  Wealthy  declined,  without  giving  reasons. 

Miss  Nell  accepted,  with  considerable  hesitation. 

Miss  Kate  professed  to  be  delighted.  She  compli- 
mented us  on  our  truly  Rarey-like  accomplishments  and 
wonderful  success  in  taming  the  wild  beasts  of  the  for- 
est ;  and  she  was  very,  very  sorry  that  she  was  really 
obliged  to  "  help  mother  "  that  day  :  but,  if  we  met  with 
no  accident  that  day  nor  the  next,  she  thought  she 
would  like  to  ride  with  us,  if  we  pleased. 

Mrs.  Wilbur,  like  a  prudent  matron,  declined  for  her 
daughters. 


196  FOX-HUNTING. 

We  went  on  to  the  Sylvesters'.  Jule  was  all  ready, 
and  waiting  for  us. 

So  with  Jule  and  Miss  Nell  on  the  back  seat,  and  all 
five  of  us  boys  holding  by  the  reins  and  ropes,  we 
turned  up  the  road  leading  along  the  "swamp,"  and 
drove  ahead.  Dagon  at  once  went  into  a  run.  The 
hard  stage-road  gave  him  foothold.  Despite  its  enor- 
mous awkwardness,  the  moose  is  really  a  very  speedy 
animal.  We  fairly  flew.  A  mile  was  gone  over  at  a 
regular  2.40  speed ;  and,  the  longer  he  ran,  the  faster 
he  gathered  for  it.  Miss  Nell  looked  rather  wild.  Jule 
was  in  ecstasies.  But  we  had  the  creature  well  in  hand ; 
and  all  would  have  gone  well,  I  am  sure,  had  we  not  had 
the  misfortune  to  meet  the  morning  stage  at  a  place 
where  one  of  the  logging-roads  turned  off  into  the 
swamp. 

There  were  bushes  and  trees  along  the  stage-road,  on 
both  sides ;  so  that  we  neither  saw  the  stage,  nor  the 
stage  us,  till  we  were  within  ten  rods.  It  was  simply 
impossible  for  us  to  pull  up,  or  even  rein  the  moose  out, 
he  was  under  such  headway. 

When  the  stage  people  espied  us  coming,  they  raised 
a  shout ;  and  the  four  horses  began  to  dance  and  snort. 
The  driver  reined  them  out  into  the  deep  snow  all  over. 
The  stage  itself  tipped  down  on  one  side.  Everybody 
on  top  jumped  off  the  farther  side.  Despite  all  our 
united  pulling  and  sawing  at  the  reins,  the  moose  went 
plunging  on,  and,,  coming  alongside  the  horses,  uttered 
a  wild  bellow ;  at  which  they  all  squealed  from  abject 
terror.  Certain  ladies  inside  the  stage  screamed  and 
screeched.  The  driver  poured  out  anathemas,  and  leaped 


FOX-HUNTING.  197 

for  his  life ;  and  frightened,  no  doubt,  by  all  this  uproar, 
Dagon  took  down  the  logging-road  into  the  swamp, 
barge  and  all,  like  a  locomotive  leaping  an  embankment. 
We  all  five  braced  our  feet  against  the  fender,  and 
threw  our  whole  weight  on  the  ropes  and  reins  to  stop 
the  frantic  monster. 

Quite  in  vain.  The  next  instant,  one  side  of  the 
barge  struck  a  tree-trunk  beside  the  trail. 

Snap  went  the  traces. 

Crash  went  the  fender-board. 

Jule  and  Xell  came  headlong  against  us;  but  we 
clung  to  the  ropes  and  reins.  The  moose  whirled  partly 
around :  the  nooses  slipped  off  his  snout.  He  reared, 
gnashing  his  teeth ;  but  something  gave  way.  With  a 
snort  he  bounded  off  among  the  cedars.  There  lay  his 
mighty  antlers  all  tangled  up  in  the  ropes  and  reins. 
He  had  shed  them  at  last. 

Was  anybody  killed  ?     That  was  the  first  question. 

Baring  a  few  bumps  and  grazes,  nobody  was  hurt  — 
much. 

We  gathered  ourselves  up.  The  barge  was  a  good 
deal  battered.  Farther  travel  in  that  was  now,  of 
course,  out  of  the  question. 

Wade  arid  I  undertook  to  see  the  ladies  home  by  the 
road.  Kit,  Tom,  and  Wash  started  off  across  to  get  the 
hounds,  snow-shoes,  and  guns,  to  run  down  Dagon. 

On  getting  back  to  the  stage-road,  our  branch  of  the 
party  found  that  the  stage  was  gone.  A  newspaper,  a 
pocket-handkerchief,  a  brown-paper  package  of  bread  and 
cheese,  and  a  quantity  of  oats,  lay  scattered  about  near 
the  scene  of  the  catastrophe ;  but  we  inferred  that  noth- 
ing very  serious  had  befallen. 


198  FOX-HUNTING. 

It  was  near  noon  before  we  got  round  to  the  Ed- 
wards's  — to  receive  condolence  from  Miss  Kate. 

Meanwhile  Kit,  Wash,  and  Tom  had  gone  after 
Dagon,  with  intent  to  kill  at  sight. 

We  saw  no  more  of  them  till  nine  in  the  evening; 
when  they  came  back  thoroughly  tired  out.  They  had 
chased  the  moose  eight  or  ten  miles,  without  once  get- 
ting sight  of  him  ;  but  they  had  come  upon  the  collar 
and  hames  about  four  miles  from  the  wreck.  With 
these  interesting  relics  and  the  antlers  they  were  forced 
to  content  themselves. 

Well,  we  naturally  supposed  this  was  the  last  of  our 
moose  ;  but,  the  next  morning,  along  came  an  ill-favored 
individual,  who  immediately  announced  himself  to  be  a 
sheriff,  and  arrested  all  four  of  us  (Tom  was  not  in- 
cluded in  the  writ)  for  "  wilfully  and  maliciously " 
frightening  the  stage-horses,  thereby  obstructing  travel 
on  the  public  highway,  &c. 

This  was  decidedly  rich. 

No  help  for  it.  We  were  that  forenoon  arraigned  be- 
fore a  "  trial-justice  "  (Hobbs,  I  believe,  his  name  was)  up 
at  the  hall  over  the  "  store,"  —  same  place  where  we  had 
held  our  soiree.  This  was  unmistakably  a  matinee. 

We  pleaded  guilty,  of  course.  It  was  all  true  enough. 
But  we  made  one  mistake  :  we  refused  to  employ  a  little 
scurvy-looking  lawyer  who  had  offered  to  be  our  "  coun- 
sel." The  justice  didn't  like  our  independence.  Per- 
haps the  man  of  law  was  a  relative  of  his.  We  were 
fined  twenty  dollars  and  costs,  —  in  all,  twenty-nine  dol- 
lars and  seventy-eight  cents ;  which  we  paid,  and  told 
them  to  take  it,  and  snick-up. 


FOX-HUNTING.  199 

Ah,  how  Miss  Kate  did  rally  us  on  this  exploit !  It 
was  a  source  of  endless  raillery  and  joke. 

This  was  really  the  last  of  our  moose.  Altogether, 
he  had  cost  us  sixty-nine  dollars  and  seventy-eight 
cents,  besides  the  broken  harness,  smashed  barge,  and 
the  personal  peril  he  had  put  us  in. 

To  offset  all  this,  we  had  his  antlers. 

It  is  my  opinion  that  it  won't  pay  to  try  to  domesti- 
cate the  moose. 

What  Dagon's  opinion  of  civilization  was,  or  what 
sort  of  a  report  he  bore  back  to  his  kindred  in  the  dis- 
tant forests,  might  be  a  matter  of  interesting  conjecture. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

High  Times  at  the  Edwards's. —  Carpe  Die.m. — We  start  an 
Opera.  —  "  Romeo  and  Juliet."  —  Private  Buffoonery.  —  A  Mas- 
querade. —  "  Hide-and-Seek."  —  The  Old  Chest.  —  Kit  and  Kate. 
—  Somewhat  of  a  Revelation.  —  Capt.  Hazard's  Letter.  —  The 
Yacht  done.  —  Adieu  to  our  Lady  Friends. 

"  I  saw  Esau  kissing  Kate." 

THE  next  day,  or  the  next  day  but  one,  after  the 
moose  fiasco,  the  senior  Edwardses  (pere  et  mkre) 
went  on  a  journey  to  visit  relatives  in  an  adjoining 
county,  — according  to  their  annual  custom,  as  we  under- 
stood. 

Tom,  Kate,  and  Khoda  were  left  to  keep  house.  That 
meant  high  carnival  for  us.  'Twas  getting  toward  the 
last  of  our  stay  in  the  neighborhood.  Carpe  diem.  We 
seized  the  opportunity  to  have  a  grand  "  blow  out." 
Every  evening  till  after  midnight  that  mansion  resounded 
to  laughter  (side-splitting  laughter),  song,  and  racket. 

With  merry  care,  Kate  had  turned  mirrors  to  the 
wall,  and  put  every  thing  breakable  under  cover.  I  never 
saw  a  girl  who  enjoyed  a  frolic  so  well.  There  were  a 
dozen  of  us,  with  nobody  to  say  "  Whoa !  " 

200 


FOX-HUNTING.  201 

A  stage  was  set  up  in  the  sitting-room.  We  were  even 
ambitious  enough  to  start  an  opera,  after  successfully 
performing  "  Komeo  and  Juliet "  and  "  Midsummer- 
Night's  Dream  ;"  both  more  or  less  abridged.  I  may  add : 
these,  besides  purely  original  efforts  at  buffoonery  and 
pantaloonery  on  the  part  of  Wash,  Kit,  and  Wade  ;  im- 
mensely amusing,  because  everybody  was  bound  to  laugh 
that  week.  Laughing  was  almost  spontaneous.  The 
least  effort  in  the  comic  line  would  throw  every  one  into 
convulsions.  I  never  laughed  so  much  in  a  week. 

Then  we  essayed  a  masquerade.  But  the  merriest, 
roaringest,  rollickingest  game  of  all  was  hide-and-seek. 
Its  very  juvenile  character  lent  it  a  charm.  We  got 
galore  of  fun  out  of  it.  And  an  incident  connected  with 
one  of  these  hide-and-seek  crazes  I  must  not  omit  to 
record. 

It  was  an  old-fashioned,  two-story  house,  with  "  legions 
of  rooms,"  —  quaint,  dim  rooms  and  closets.  One  might 
almost  get  lost  of  an  evening  on  the  second  floor.  They 
did  not  pretend  to  keep  the  rooms  up  stairs  lighted. 

At  the  signal  for  hiding,  we  used  all  to  disperse  up 
stairs,  up  garret,  —  anywhere  not  out  of  the  house.  Who- 
ever had  blinded  had  then  to  hunt  us  up,  by  moonlight 
simple,  on  the  second  floor  and  in  the  garret. 

In  one  of  these  chambers  I  had  chanced  upon  what  I 
deemed  a  famous  hiding-place.  It  was  nothing  less 
than  a  great  chest,  three  or  four  feet  high,  such  as  was 
used  to  keep  bed-blankets,  "  puffs,"  &c.,  in.  It  being  in 
the  cold  season,  this  chest  was  now  nearly  empty,  save 
a  few  cedary-smelling  blankets  down  in  the  bottom. 
Quietly  raising  the  lid,  I  would  slip  into  this  chest.  The 


202  FOX-HUNTING. 

lid  had  a  leathern  strap  tacked  to  the  edge  of  it  to 
raise  it  by :  I  could  turn  this  strap  inside,  and  hold  on. 
Frequently  the  "  seek "  would  come  and  try  the  lid ; 
but,  as  I  held  it  fast,  he  or  she  would  naturally  get  the 
impression  that  the  chest  was  locked ;  and,  as  persons  do 
not  often  lock  themselves  into  chests,  my  retreat  went 
unchallenged.  I  may  add,  however,  that  I  did  not 
venture  in  here  when  either  Tom  or  Kate  was  "  seek." 
They  prohahly  knew  ahout  the  chest. 

But  I  rather  enjoyed  getting  in  there  when  Jule 
was  "  seek."  It  was  gratifying  to  have  her  rummage 
twenty  minutes,  and  have  to  give  it  up.  Then  I  would 
quietly  make  my  appearance,  to  her  great  bewilderment 
and  disgust. 

I  think  it  was  the  fourth  time  I  hr.d  "  sold  "  Jule  in 
the  chest :  at  least  I  had  just  whipped  into  it,  and  cud- 
dled down  on  the  blankets,  when  tramp,  tramp,  in  came 
one  of  the  hoys,  and,  pulling  out  the  chest  a  little  from 
the  wall,  got  down  behind  it.  Scarcely  was  he  ensconced 
before  there  was  a  quick,  soft  step  across  the  room,  a 
flutter,  a  rustle  over  the  chest,  and  a  suppressed  "Ah  !  " 
as  she  discovered  the  lurker  behind. 

"  That  you,  Kate  ?  "  demanded  a  low  voice,  —  a  very 
familiar  one. 

«  Yes,  Kit." 

"  In  here  quick,  then  !  Here's  room  ! "  he  murmured, 
and  pushed  the  chest  out  a  -little  farther. 

Another  rustle,  and  she  was  snugly  behind  the  chest. 
There  were  cracks  in  the  back-side  of  it.  I  took  opportu- 
nity to  get  my  ear  up  to  one  of  them. 

"  Isn't  this  cosey  ?  "  says  Kit  with  an  accent  quite 


FOX-HUNTING.  203 

ecstatic.  "  Ah,  you  dear  girl ! "  Then  there  was  a 
kiss  —  several  of  them  —  and  a  sigh. 

"  What  a  time  you  must  have  had  of  it ! "  he  ex- 
claimed, half  in  whisper,  half  aloud.  "All  my  fault  too : 
I  might  have  known  they  would  all  fall  in  love  with 
you.  .  .  .  And  you've  been  true  to  me,  dearest  Kitty,  — 
true  as  a  magnet !  What  an  ordeal  I've  stupidly  put 
you  through !  I've  been  so  distressed  and  mortified 
about  it  all !  Can  you  really  forgive  me  ?  " 

Evidently  she  was  forgiving  him ;  for  there  was  a 
softer  murmur,  and  another  seemingly  very  sweet  kiss. 

"  They  don't  dream  we're  lovers,"  Kit  went  on.  "  They 
think  it's  Graves" 

At  this  they  both  fell  to  laughing  silently.  The  idea 
was  apparently  a  very  amusing  one ;  for  they  laughed, 
and  shook  the  chest  fairly. 

I  wanted  to  put  my  fist  out  through  the  side  of  it. 

"  They  would  gibbet  me,"  says  Kit,  "  if  they  were  to 
find  it  out !  " 

And  they  laughed  again  immoderately. 

"  They  would  be  sure  to  think  I  had  lured  them  up 
here  on  purpose  to  come  this  joke  on  them,"  Kit  ran 
on.  "  But  Heaven  knows  I  never  meant  nor  expected 
any  thing  of  the  sort.  But  I  ought  to  have  known ! 
And  I've  been  served  right ;  for,  Kitty  dear,  it  was 
torture  for  me  to  see  them  so  attentive  to  you,  even 
though  I  knew  you  was  and  always  would  be  true  to 
me.  .  .  .  But  poor  Graves  !  Between  us  all,  we  got 
him  into  the  worst  fix.  I'm  ashamed  of  my  part  in  the 
matter,  and  doubly  ashamed  of  the  position  I've  put  you 
in  all  along.  But,  Kate," —  Here  Jule  bounced  in, 
and,  running  up  to  the  chest,  discovered  them. 


204  FOX-HUNTING. 

"  Seen  any  thing  of  that  Raedway  ?  "  she  demanded. 

They  had  not.     And  all  three  went  out. 

Here  was  a  revelation  certainly.  I  felt  indignant 
enough  to  go  after  Kit,  denounce  him  publicly,  and  knock 
him  down. 

But,  after  all,  I  could  not  help  admitting  to  myself  that 
I  would  rather  it  should  be  him  than  the  Freshman. 

What  a  ridiculous  game  we  three  had  played  at, 
though!  There!  it  was  just  excruciating  to  think  it 
over !  Why  hadn't  the  fellow  given  us  a  hint  ? 

During  the  twenty  minutes  I  meant  to  let  Jule  hunt, 
I  had  time  to  think  the  matter  over.  From  what  I  had 
overheard,  I  concluded  that  their  engagement,  or  what- 
ever they  called  it,  was  a  kind  of  secret  transaction,  of 
which  nobody  knew  any  thing  save  themselves.  They 
had  probably  come  to  an  understanding  some  years  ago. 
Betrothed,  doubtless,  but  had  decided  to  wait  and  keep 
shady  till  both  had  finished  their  education.  Well,  that 
was  sensible,  —  very  sensible  :  still  it  was  a  joke  on  us 
none  the  less. 

Should  I  tell  Wash  and  Wade  ?  At  first  I  felt  much 
inclined  to  do  so ;  but  considering  the  fact  that  I  had 
come  by  my  information  surreptitiously,  and  that  both 
Kit  and  the  lady  wished  it  to  remain  a  secret,  I  thought 
I  might  as  well  keep  still.  Least  said,  soonest  mended,  so 
far  as  we  three  rejected  suitors  were  concerned  certainly. 
And  then  it  might  make  trouble.  There  was  no  know- 
ing how  Wash  and  Wade  might  receive  it.  Safest,  on 
the  whole,  to  keep  quiet.  But  why  had  Kit  seemed  to 
dislike  Graves?  Well,  that  I  couldn't  tell.  Was  it 
possible  he  had  at  one  time  been  a  little  jealous  of  him  ? 


FOX-HUNTING.  205 

Lovers  are  such  unreasonable  pigs  !  I  do  not  pretend 
to  have  quite  fathomed  it  all.  Yet,  at  the  end  of  about 
twenty  minutes,  I  got  out  of  that  old  chest  considerably 
wiser  than  I  had  got  into  it,  and,  going  down  stairs,  pre- 
sented myself  to  Jule's  utterly  puzzled  gaze  as  innocent- 
ly as  I  might. 

Well,  I  have  never  lisped  a  word  of  this ;  but  I  now 
take  a  quiet  satisfaction  in  putting  down  the  facts  in 
this  record. 

Two  days  afterwards  we  received  a  letter  from  Capt. 
Mazard,  stating  that  the  carpenters  had  finished  work 
on  the  yacht,  and  that  we  had  better  come  on  to  attend 
to  the  furnishing  of  the  saloon  and  staterooms. 

That  night  we  took  leave  of  our  fair  lady  friends.  I 
made  it  a  point  to  stick  by  Kit,  and  allow  him  no  chance 
to  take  a  tenderer  leave  of  Miss  Kate  than  the  rest  of 
us  took.  So  skilful  a  piece  of  deception  I  thought  ought 
to  be  carried  out  to  the  letter. 

And  now,  on  the  eve  of  departing  on  our  Old- World 
cruise,  I  lay  down  my  pen,  merely  remarking,  that,  if  we 
go  to  Europe  and  come  back  without  writing  a  book,  we 
shall  do  better  than  the  most  of  our  countrymen  have 
done  for  the  last  decade. 

"  Three  fishers  went  sailing  away  to  the  West, — 
Away  to  the  West  as  the  sun  went  down." 


NOTES   ON   THE   BED  FOX   (VULPES  FULVUS). 

BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  "CAMPING  OUT." 

WARY  Reynard  was  one  of  the  earliest  and 
best  known  of  all  my  wild-wood  acquaintances; 
and,  on  the  whole,  I  like  him  best  of  them  all.  Every 
Anglo-American  knows  that  there  is  something  im- 
mensely beguiling  in  the  sight  of  a  fox's  brush.  Rey- 
nard is  unmistakably  the  "  genius  "  among  the  quad- 
rupeds. 

I  have  rarely  come  across  him  without  being  amused 
at  some  new  trick  or  shift  of  his  to  get  out  of  a  scrape. 

I  recall  a.  very  foolish  adventure  with  one.  I  was 
going  through  the  woods  on  my  way  to  visit  a  "  dead- 
fall "  I  had  made  for  marten  in  a  spruce-thicket  near 
the  top  of  a  neighboring  mountain. 

Following  a  little  footpath  worn  by  wild  creatures,  I 
heard  the  sharp,  cur-like  bark  of  a  fox,  a  short  distance 
above.  Guessing  that  the  animal  was  coming  down  the 
path,  I  stepped  aside  behind  a  low  fir,  and  stood  still. 
The  fox  had  not  seen  me,  and,  a  moment  later,  came  in 
sight,  trotting  down  the  path.  He  was  a  fine  "  woods- 

206 


THE  KED   FOX.  207 

gray,"  his  great  brush  carried  almost  on  a  level  with  his 
back. 

I  stood  motionless  until  just  as  he  came  within  a  yard 
of  the  tree  behind  which  I  was  standing ;  then  I  sprang 
out  at  him  with  a  shout.  Instantly  Reynard  dropped 
in  a  heap  on  the  ground,  and  lay  still ;  to  all  appearance, 
dead.  I  knew  this  was  a  mere  dodge  ;  but,  happening 
to  think  I  would  like  to  carry  him  home  alive,  I  took 
out  a  strong  leather  string  from  my  pocket,  and  tied  his 
legs  securely.  Having  done  this,  I  left  him  under  the 
fir  to  wait  my  coming  back.  The  wily  fellow  did  not 
so  much  as  unclose  an  eye  during  the  whole  operation. 

Ten  minutes  later,  I  came  back.  There  was  no  fox 
under  the  tree;  but  the  string  remained,  ragged  and 
broken  by  his  teeth. 

One  of  my  first  recollections  is  of  the  time,  when, 
armed  with  an  old  tin-pan  and  a  pestle,  I  was  left  to 
guard  a  young  lamb  from  the  foxes  while  it  fed  and 
gambolled.  It  was  at  my  early  home  in  Northern  Maine, 
—  one  of  those  pioneer  clearings  on  the  verge  of  the 
wilderness.  Ah,  how  well  I  remember  it!  —  the  long 
lake  in  front,  winding  away  among  the  sombre  "  black 
growth,"  with  dark  wild  peaks  on  the  horizon  around. 

The  lamb  had  been  brought  from  the  town  below  to 
be  the  nucleus  of  a  future  flock.  Even  now  I  seem  to 
see  Reynard's  yellow  back  over  the  top  of  the  "  cradle- 
knolls,"  working  up  toward  the  lamb,  crouching  and 
creeping  from  stump  to  stump,  with  his  sharp  nose  ex- 
tended, and  eyes  fixed ;  getting  up  in  this  way  within 
two  or  three  rods  to  make  a  dash  as  quick  as  thought. 
All  my  vigilance  and  drumming  went  for  nothing.  In 
an  unguarded  moment,  a  fox  got  the  lamb. 


208  THE  KED  FOX. 

For  years  it  was  impossible  to  keep  a  cat.  Tabby 
very  naturally  wanted  to  take  moonlight  walks ;  and  Rey- 
nard was  sure  to  snap  her  up.  Finally  a  friend  at  Port- 
land sent  us  a  gigantic  old  Thomas,  — the  biggest  cat  he 
could  find  in  the  city,  he  said.  His  thought  was.  that 
this  cat  would  be  a  match  for  any  fox.  A  full  account 
of  the  battles  Tom  had  with  the  foxes  would  fill  a  vol- 
ume. Nearly  every  night,  lie  would  be  assaulted  in  the 
door-yard. 

He  held  his  own  pretty  well,  however ;  and,  excepting 
some  ugly  bites,  he  seemed  for  a  long  time  to  be  the 
victor  in  all  fights.  But  one  night  there  came  a  dread- 
ful battle.  So  fierce  and  protracted  was  it,  that  we  at 
length  ran  out  to  the  rescue.  But  it  was  too  late.  A 
large  red  fox  had  killed  poor  Tom,  and  was  dragging 
him  off.  We  reached  the  battle-ground  in  time  to  save 
the  corpus  only.  Next  morning,  Tom  was  buried  in 
great  sorrow  under  a  poplar  near  the  house.  On  the 
following  night,  however,  the  foxes  dug  him  up.  They 
were  determined  to  have  him,  dead  or  alive. 

About  thirty  rods  north  of  the  house,  there  was  an 
abrupt,  ledgy  hill,  and  just  at  the  foot  of  it  a  low  crag, 
or  rather  a  rick  of  huge  rocks  that  had  rolled  down  the 
side,  and  lay  tumbled  together.  A  crevice  between  a 
couple  of  these  led  into  an  inaccessible  den  behind  them. 
This  den,  or  burrow,  was  a  great  place  of  resort  for  all 
the  foxes  about.  Whenever  one  got  belated  in  his  wan- 
derings, or  was  overtaken  by  a  storm,  he  would  turn  in 
here.  Passing  this  den  about  ten  o'clock  on  any  morn- 
ing, one  was  sure  to  hear  a  fox  snoring  inside.  They 
frequently  snore  while  sleeping.  Their  sleep  is  very 


THE  RED   FOX.  209 

sound  too.  This  I  have  always  thought  rather  strange, 
considering  their  slyness,  and  the  acuteness  of  their 
senses  when  awake.  I  have  frequently  seen  them  go 
there ;  and  generally,  on  approaching,  the  incoming  fox 
would  bark,  —  a  short,  sharp  yap  ;  and,  if  the  den  was 
already  occupied,  the  inside  party  would  come  out,  and 
after  mutual  civilities,  such  as  tail-waggings,  feet-wip- 
ings,  and  perhaps  a  few  playful  snaps  at  each  other's 
cheeks,  they  would  go  in  together. 

Sometimes,  though,  there  would  he  trouble.  The  new- 
comer might  be  a  bad  character,  —  something  wrong 
about  him,  or  perhaps  old  grudges ;  and  they  would  fly 
at  each  other  with  the  greatest  fury,  one  or  the  other 
soon  getting  the  worst  of  it,  and  running  away.  Often, 
however,  after  a  smart  game  at  cuifs,  they  would  come 
to  terms,  make  peace,  and  go  in  lovingly  together. 

We  tried  to  catch  them  in  traps  there  repeatedly,  but 
without  success  :  too  cunning  for  us.  And  I  remember, 
that,  one  cloudy  afternoon,  a  fox  made  a  raid  into  the 
yard  in  front  of  the  barn,  where  the  hens  were  scratch- 
ing (they  were  a  flock  of  Bolton  Grays  we  had  lately 
bought),  and,  seizing  chanticleer  himself,  ran  up  towards 
the  burrow  in  the  crag.  I  had  seen  him  from  the  win- 
dow, and,  catching  down  the  gun,  ran  out,  and,  keeping 
in  the  bushes  on  one  sitfe,  worked  up  toward  the  rocks. 
Getting  within  ten  or  twelve  rods,  I  peeped  out  through 
the  shrubbery. 

Instead  of  one,  there  were  three  foxes  before  the  hole ; 

and  a  great  scolding  and  palaver  were  going  on.     The 

captor  of  the  rooster  didn't  seem  inclined  to  divide  with 

the  other  two,  who  were  greatly  scandalized  at  his  stingi- 

14 


210  THE  RED  FOX. 

ness.  But,  after  a  great  deal  of  talk,  he  concluded  to  be 
generous ;  and,  laying  down  the  fowl,  they  all  three  fell  to 
devouring  it  in  the  greatest  harmony. 

Hoping,  at  least,  to  kill  one  of  them,  I  blazed  away. 
Quick  as  a  flash,  they  all  dived  into  their  den.  I  ran 
up  to  get  the  rooster,  had  got  within  a  yard,  and  was  ac- 
tually stooping  to  pick  it  up,  when  one  of  the  foxes  darted 
out,  grabbed  the  fowl,  and  darted  in  again.  I  thought 
that  was  cheek. 

Like  other  sharpers  who  live  by  their  wits,  Reynard 
is  frequently  hard  put,  and  often  rabidly  hungry. 

When  quite  young,  I  was  camping  out  one  night  with 
a  boy-neighbor,  who,  from  want  of  shoes,  was  barefoot; 
and,  as  usual  with  such  youngsters,  his  feet  were  very 
tough,  and  not  particularly  clean.  It  was  on  the  bank 
of  the  "thoroughfare,"  or  water-gap,  between  the  lake 
below  where  we  lived  and  the  lake  below  that.  It  was 
a  warm  September  evening,  at  the  season  when  mosqui- 
toes have  ceased  to  bite,  and  the  peculiar  autumn  stillness 
of  the  forest  is  so  delightful.  The  whippoorwills  and 
the  night-hawks  had  gone.  Only  the  wood-crickets  were 
chirruping  cheerily  under  the  mossy  stones  and  logs, 
with  an  occasional  fishy  splash  out  in  the  stream. 

We  had  sprigged  off  a  "  shakedown "  of  hemlock- 
boughs,  and,  being  very  tired  from  our  long  tramp  in  the 
woods,  had  soon  gone  to  sleep,  quite  heedless  of  our  wild 
surroundings. 

Along  in  the  night  I  was  awakened  by  a  yell  from  my 
young  comrade  with  the  bare  feet.  A  fox  (we  got  a 
parting  glimpse  of  him  by  the  light  of  the  waning  moon) 
had  come  up,  and,  seizing  him  by  the  great- toe,  had  bit- 
ten and  chewed  it  in  a  most  excruciating  manner. 


THE  RED  FOX.  211 

If  you  could  only  have  seen  that  toe,  or  any  of  its 
mates,  you  would  have ,  thought,  as  I  did  at  the  time, 
that  the  fox  must  have  been  hungry. 

It  was  no  playful  bite,  either.  The  poor  fellow  had  a 
fearfully  sore  toe  for  a  month  afterward.  It  was  feared 
that  it  had  been  a  mad  fox,  and  that  hydrophobia  might 
ensue ;  but  no  such  evil  result  came  of  it.  It  was 
doubtless  mere  hunger  which  prompted  that  sharp  grab. 

I  once  came  upon  a  fox,  on  a  bright,  sunny  day,  sound 
asleep  in  a  clump  of  low  hemlocks.  Seeing  him  coiled 
up,  I  thought  at  first  he  was  dead,  he  lay  so  still.  So, 
instead  of  knocking  him  on  the  head,  I  stepped  up,  and 
gave  him  a  slight  kick ;  when  up  jumped  Keynard,  and 
cleared  nearly  a  rod  by  his  first  leap  away. 

We  are  told,  or  at  least  left  to  infer,  in  the  fable,  that 
foxes  love  grapes.  Apropos  of  that,  I  recollect  my 
grandfather  had  a  fine  lot  of  tomatoes  one  fall;  and  they 
were  getting  well  ripened  and  red,  when,  one  night,  a 
fox,  or  rather  a  number  of  foxes,  came  into  the  garden, 
and  ate  and  gnawed  nearly  the  whole  of  them.  The 
soft  mould  was  full  of  their  tracks  the  next  morning. 

One  afternoon  in  summer,  while  at  a  hay-clearing,  or 
"hay-farm  "  as  such  clearings  are  called,  I  saw  two  foxes 
take  up  a  bumble-bees'  nest  placed  in  a  bunch  of  dried 
grass  on  the  ground.  I  don't  know  when  any  little 
thing  has  so  amused  me.  They  wanted  the  honey,  and 
yet  were  mortally  averse  to  getting  stung.  As  often 
as  the  enraged  bees  would  dart  at  them,  they  would 
run  and  dodge  and  double  to  avoid  the  insects,  rolling 
over  and  over.  I  thought  they  killed  many  of  the  bees 
with  quick  blows  from  their  paws.  At  any  rate,  they 


212  THE  EED    FOX. 

succeeded,' at  last,  in  their  attempt;  and  then,  scratching 
out  the  comb,  they  ate  the  honey  with  a  great  licking 
of  tongues,  and  switching  of  tails. 

Once  while  I  was  watching  a  fox,  which  was  watch- 
ing near  the  form  of  some  hares,  a  large  lynx  rushed 
out  of  a  thicket,  and  charged  furiously  on  Reynard. 
The  onslaught  was  so  unexpected  and  sudden,  that,  for 
a  moment,  the  fox  was  put  at  his  best  paces  to  keep  out 
of  reach  of  the  long  claws  of  his  pursuer ;  but  he  soon 
distanced  his  more  clumsy  foe,  and  then,  as  if  in  de- 
rision, began  to  dodge  him,  and  double  on  him.  He 
would  keep  within  a  few  yards  of  the  lynx,  until  the 
animal  became  so  exasperated,  that  he  finally  stopped, 
and  began  to  screech  in  very  rage,  —  an  opportunity  I 
improved,  and  sent  a  bullet  through  him.  The  fox 
stared  a  moment  at  the  smoke  of  my  gun,  and  scuttled 
hastily  away. 

Their  sense  of  smell  is,  doubtless,  very  acute.  Yet 
I  have  known  a  fox  to  approach  within  a  yard  of  me, 
without  evincing  the  slightest  suspicion  of  my  presence; 
while  on  another  occasion,  when  attempting  to  shoot 
one  that  was  pursued  by  hounds  by  lying  hidden  near 
the  trail  they  had  made  in  circling  around  a  hill,  the  fox 
clearly  scented  me  at  a  distance  of  fifty  rods,  and  turned 
quickly  away  in  another  direction. 

When  chased  by  hounds,  a  fox  will  rarely  leave  the 
district  in  which  he  is  started.  In  almost  every  case, 
he  will  "circle"  about  some  mountain  or  hill;  going 
from  one  to  another,  and  back.  It  often  happens  that 
they  are  finally  run  down  and  captured  not  twenty  rods 
from  the  place  from  which  they  originally  started.  This 


THE   RED  FOX.  213 

is  one  of  Reynard's  great  mistakes,  —  one  that  gener- 
ally costs  him  his  life.  A  fox  will  often  run  a  hundred 
miles  before  he  is  overtaken.  If,  Instead  of  "circling," 
he  would  only  strike  off  on  one  course,  and  continue  in 
it,  no  hunter  would  chase  him  a  hundred  miles  from 
home.  Fox-hunting  would  soon  lose  its  charms  under 
such  circumstances. 

The  reason  why  a  fox  circles  may  perhaps  he  found 
in  "that  curious  attraction  towards  a  centre,  which  con- 
strains all  animals,  as  well  as  men,  to  move  in  circles 
when  frightened  or  bewildered.  Some  deem  it  due  to 
the  fox's  love  for  home,  —  the  region  where  he  has  lived 
and  ranged.  But  a  fox  has,  in  reality,  very  little  love 
for  home.  Like  the  true,  improvident  genius  he  is,  Key- 
nard  rarely  has  a  burrow,  or  any  fixed  abode,  to  which 
he  regularly  resorts.  He  does  not  want  the  trouble  of 
housekeeping. 

Late  one  spring,  a  party  of  us  boys  dug  out  two  litters 
of  young  foxes,  —  seven  in  all,  —  and  kept  them  through 
the  summer.  After  they  were  two  and  three  months 
old,  they  furnished  an  endless  source  of  amusement  by 
their  pranks  and  quarrels.  Foxes  are  very  short-tem- 
pered creatures.  The  least  provocation  will  bring  on  a 
game  of  cuffs  and  bites.  These  young  ones  were  yellow, 
almost  red  on  the  back,  with  light  gray  breasts,  black 
legs,  and  large  prick  ears,  black  on  the  outside,  but  al- 
most white  within :  their  noses  were  very  pointed ;  their 
tails  thick  furred,  sparsely  set  with  long  black  hairs. 

We  kept  them  in  a  large  pen,  covered  over ;  and,  on 
throwing  in  food,  —  such  as  a  hare,  or  leg  of  mutton,  — 
there  would  be  a  tremendous  tussle.  First  one  would 


214  THE  RED  POX. 

grab  it ;  then  two  more  would  fasten  on  it,  and  pull  to 
get  it  away  from  the  first.  But,  on  getting  possession 
of  the  meat,  even  the  risk  of  losing  it  would  not  hinder 
them  from  dropping  it  to  fly  at  the  first  one  to  bite 
him,  by  way  of  punishment.  While  doing  this,  some 
of  the  rest  would  snatch  it  from  the  ground.  This 
would  last  until  they  had  pulled  it  piecemeal. 

We  intended  to  keep  them  till  November,  when  the 
fur  would  be  sufficiently  matured  for  the  market ;  but, 
early  in  September,  they  broke  jail  one  night,  and 
escaped. 

As  foxes  grow  old,  they  gradually  narrow  their  range. 
Instead  of  running  over  a  whole  county,  they  come  to 
confine  their  trips  to  a  single  township,  and  finally  to 
a  single  neighborhood. 

A  young  fox  lately  in  my  possession  broke  his  chain 
one  night,  and,  after  a  couple  of  farewell  yaps  under  my 
chamber-window,  set  off  on  his  travels.  As  about  four 
feet  of  his  chain  was  attached  to  his  collar,  his  track 
could  easily  be  identified  after  snow  came.  A  fort- 
night after  he  regained  his  liberty,  I  heard  of  him  in 
another  town  distant  twelve  miles.  Three  days  later, 
he  was  seen  not  half  a  mile  away.  After  hanging 
about  several  days,  he  set  off  in  another  direction  ;  when 
I  again  got  news  of  him  fifteen  miles  off.  But  a  fort- 
night after  this  he  was  captured,  from  the  chain  catch- 
ing between  two  stones  in  a  double  wall,  not  more  than 
two  miles  distant  from  his  old  kennel.  He  didn't  like  a 
return  to  stationary  habits  at  all,  and  bit  savagely  at  first. 
It  was  not  until  he  had  been  subjected  to  several  sound 
cuffings  that  he  was  disposed  to  recognize  the  rights  of 
his  former  master. 


THE   RED   FOX.  215 

Some  years  since,  a  neighboring  hillside  became  the 
residence  of  a  lady  fox  that  seemed  inclined  to  become 
a  regular  citizen,  and  perhaps  "  gain  a  residence." 
She  could  be  easily  distinguished  from  all  others,  not 
only  on  account  of  her  superior  size,  but  from  her  pecu- 
liar color.  From  the  usual  yellowish-red,  her  fur  had 
turned  almost  white ;  for  the  same  reason,  I  suppose, 
that  a  person's  hair  turns  gray. 

For  more  than  six  years  she  lived  steadily  at  the  den 
in  the  hillside,  and  gave  all  the  people  of  the  neighbor- 
hood a  chance  to  know  something  of  her  habits,  and  of 
the  manner  in  which  she  supplied  her  larder.  Nothing 
was  more  common  than  to  see  the  "  old  lady  "  trotting 
across  the  fields  at  nightfall,  or,  on  going  out  early  in 
the  morning,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of*  her  turning  the  cor- 
ner of  the  barn  or  shed;  for,  abandoning  the  shyness 
usual  to  foxes,  this  one  seemed  to  get  tamer  on  acquaint- 
ance, and  to  make  a  regular  business  of  picking  up  old 
bones  and  refuse-matter  about  the  farm-houses,  together 
with  whatever  poultry  she  could  handily  come  upon. 

On  account  of  depredations  of  this  latter  sort,  the 
thievish  old  creature  was  repeatedly  shot  at,  and,  on 
several  occasions,  chased  to  her  den.  Two  strenuous 
attempts  were  even  made  to  unearth  her,  —  once  with 
smoke,  and  again  with  shovels.  The  shovelling-party 
reported,  that,  after  digging  in  eight  or  nine  feet,  they 
came  to  where  the  hole  led  in  between  two  large  rocks, 
which  stopped  their  farther  progress. 

Traps  were  next  resorted  to  ;  but  no  skill  in  baiting, 
or  insidiousness  in  placing  them,  proved  of  the  least 
avail.  This  "  mother  of  all  the  foxes,"  as  the  folks  came 


216  THE  RED  FOX. 

to  call  her,  was  fully  up  to  any  thing  and  every  thing  of 
this  sort ;  and  so  it  came  to  be  generally  understood 
that  the  "old  fox"  was  something  to  be  accepted  and 
endured,  like  droughts  and  freshets. 

As  time  passed,  the  venerable  creature  profited  by  this 
tacit  acknowledgment  of  her  providential  character  to 
wax  even  bolder  than  before.  Obedient  to  her  traditions, 
my  grandmother  kept  geese  in  those  days.  They  had 
their  aquatic  accommodations  in  the  shape  of  a  small 
pond  about  half  a  dozen  rods  below  the  stable.  For  the 
space  of  three  summers,  the  dear  old  lady  scarcely  got  a 
chance  to  take  a  single  long  breath  in  comfort  for  the 
chronic  anxiety  occasioned  by  "  that  fox."  Her  list  of 
casualties  —  carefully  and  correctly  kept,  I've  no  doubt 
—  footed  up  to  seven*geese  and  eleven  goslings  in  these 
three  summer  campaigns. 

The  fox  would  creep  up  (her  butter-colored  back  just 
visible  over  the  tops  of  the  cradle-knolls),  and  sneak  from 
stump  to  stump  to  get  within  ten  yards  unobserved ; 
then  there  would  be  a  sudden  dash,  a  sharp  squawk,  fol- 
lowed by  a  great  quacking  and  flapping  and  spattering, 
through  which  an  experienced  observer  might  detect  a 
mounted  goose  in  the  background,  making  off  with  long 
leaps  in  the  direction  of  a  certain  tall  pine-stub  on  the 
opposite  hillside. 

During  the  seventh  spring  of  the  fox's  residence  among 
us,  she  began  to  lay  her  neighbors  under  still  heavier 
contribution.  The  flocks  of  sheep,  with  their  young 
lambs,  used  to  go  out  upon  the  bare  knolls.  Presently 
numbers  of  the  lambkins  began  to  be  missed.  Madame 
Keynard  had  developed  a  taste  for  juvenile  mutton. 


THE  KED  FOX.  217 

Boys  were  set  to  watch.  According  to  their  story,  the 
fox  would  trot  confidently  into  the  flock,  select  what  she 
wanted,  shoulder  it,  and  trot  off,  adroitly  dodging  all 
"  bunts  "  and  other  like  expressions  of  ovine  disappro- 
bation. 

This  was  intolerable.  A  neighborhood  that  had  borne 
the  loss  of  its  chickens  with  a  grin,  and  merely  scowled 
when  its  Thanksgiving  turkeys  turned  up  among  the 
missing,  or  scolded  but  moderately  at  the  abduction  of  its 
geese,  wouldn't  stand  this  throttling  of  its  lambs. 

I  well  remember  the  bright  April  morning  when  seven 
of  us  boys  sallied  out  to  storm  the  old  fox  in  her  lair. 
We  had  no  need  of  hounds :  the  den  was  well  known  to 
us  all.  We  went  prepared  for  a  sweaty  job,  provided 
with  crowbars,  picks,  and  shovels.  A  glimpse  of  the 
great  marauder's  head  in  the  mouth  of  the  hole  told  us 
that  she  was  at  home. 

We  fell  to  work,  and  soon  cleared  away  the  loose  earth 
which  had  fallen  in  since  the  last  party  had  carried  on 
their  excavations.  The  rocks  which  had  stopped  them 
were  no  myth.  We  were  all  the  forenoon  digging  around 
and  under  one  of  them,  which  we  mined,  and  blew  par- 
tially aside  with  the  contents  of  our  powder-horns. 

The  explosion  opened  a  large  gap  into  the  den  behind 
the  rocks  ;  and,  before  the  smoke  had  fairly  cleared,  the 
fox  leaped  out,  and,  dodging  our  blows,  got  past  the  whole 
crowd  of  us.  But  one  of  the  boys  caught  up  a  gun  that 
had  been  laid  in  readiness,  and,  by  a  lucky  shot,  laid  the 
old  creature  low  before  she  had  got  a  hundred  feet  away. 
She  was  by  far  the  largest  fox  I  have  ever  seen,  though 
gaunt,  and  poor  in  flesh.  The  bones  were  of  very  unusual 


218  THE  BED  FOX. 

size.  Her  teeth  were  almost  entirely  gone,  —  worn  out ; 
and  her  fur,  as  stated  above,  bleached  nearly  to  white- 
ness. 

But  the  Tien  disclosed  a  greater  surprise.  On  opening 
it,  we  heard  a  queer  nuzzling  sound,  and,  in  a  nice  little 
nest  in  the  farther  corner,  espied  fourteen  cubs  (pups 
would  be  a  more  correct  name).  They  were  not  over  a 
fortnight  old,  seemingly.  Some  of  them  had  scarcely 
got  their  eyes  open.  That  they  all  belonged  to  one 
litter,  there  could  be  no  doubt. 

They  were  distributed  around  among  us,  and,  with 
three  exceptions,  kept  till  their  fur  became  good  the 
next  fall. 

Eight  of  them  were  red :  three  were  mixed  grays. 


NOTES    ON  THE   MOOSE   (ALCES  AMERICANS). 

TO  one  who  has  never  seen  a  moose-yard,  it  is  indeed 
a  strange,  quaint  sight.  Generally  it  is  situated  on 
the  south  or  south-west  slope  of  some  thickly-wooded 
ridge  or  mountain,  often  in  the  near  vicinity  of  some 
lake.  Here,  as  the  winter  snows  get  deeper,  the  moose 
collect  in  small  herds  of  from  three  to  eight  or  ten  indi- 
viduals, and  commence  to  browse  more  closely,  in  pref- 
erence to  wallowing  about :  this  is  what  is  called 
"yarding."  A  moose-yard  not  unfrequently  occupies 
seventy  acres,  —  from  twenty  to  seventy,  according  to 
the  number  of  animals.  But  during  February  and 
March,  in  seasons  when  there  are  great  falls  of  snow, 
their  range  is  often  narrowed  down  to  ten,  and  even  three 
and  four  acres.  Paths  intersect  these  enclosures  in  a  per- 
fect net-work.  All  the  shrubbery  is  closely  cropped ; 
and  small  firs  five  and  six  feet  high  are  often  eaten  down 
to  where  the  boughs  are  one  and  two  inches  in  diameter. 
They  sometimes,  too,  reach  up,  and  peel  the  bark,  and 
browse  as  high  as  eight,  and  even  twelve  feet  above  the 
ground,  rising  on  their  hind-legs,  with  their  fore-feet  in 
the  air.  The  paths  are  well  beaten,  and  strewn  with 

219 


220  THE  MOOSE. 

ordure.  These  yards  may  often  be  recognized  in  the 
summer  as  well  from  the  ordure  as  the  dead  and  broken 
shrubbery.  Sometimes,  too,  a  set  of  antlers  may  be 
found  lying  about  where  they  were  shed  late  in  the 
season. 

The  farorite  winter-food  of  the  moose  are  the  twigs  of 
the  fir,  the  bark  of  the  mountain-ash,  also  of  a  species 
of  dwarf  maple  and  the  "  moose-wood." 

In  districts  where  the  moose  range,  small  firs  may 
frequently  be  seen  crushed  and  broken  down.  Hunters 
say  that  the  moose  do  this  shortly  after  shedding  their 
antlers  by  rubbing  their  heads  against  them  in  order 
to  apply  the  balsam  to  the  sore  and  tender  places  caused 
by  the  loosening  and  falling-otf  of  their  horns. 

As  the  snow  melts  in  the  spring,  the  moose  leave  their 
winter-haunts,  and  resort  (about  the  middle  of  May  in 
Maine)  to  the  swamps,  ponds,  and  rivers,  in  search  of 
their  summer  food,  which  consists  of  the  pond-lily  and 
rush  in  all  their  varieties.  Here  they  may  be  often 
heard  and  seen  at  a  distance,  wading  along  the  shores, 
cropping  the  lily-leaves,  and  digging  for  the  large  roots. 
Hunters  say,  that,  while  feeding  on  these  roots,  the  moose 
will  sometimes  hold  its  head  under  water  for  over  a  min- 
ute at  a  stretch. 

At  this  season  the  male  and  female  do  not  associate 
together.  The  female  goes  apart,  seeking  the  cover  of 
the  most  impenetrable  thickets  of  fir  and  spruce,  which, 
from  their  density,  prevent  the  male  from  finding  them 
out ;  for  at  this  season  the  antlers  of  the  male  are  very 
tender,  and  easily  hurt.  Here  the  moose's  calves  —  gen- 
erally two  in  number  —  are  brought  forth,  and  secreted 


THE  MOOSE.  221 

from  the  old  males,  which  would  destroy  them  at 
sight. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  spring  the  moose  sheds  its 
eld  coat  of  long  rough  hair,  and  is  soon  covered  with 
short,  smooth,  fine  hair  of  a  dark-brown  color.  This, 
however,  ere  long  turns  to  a  jetty  black  on  the  back  and 
sides,  and  gray  on  the  legs. 

As  summer  comes  on,  the  moose  frequents  the  water 
more  and  more.  In  May  and  the  early  part  of  June, 
they  do  not  often  remain  in  the  water  for  more  than 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes  at  a  time  ;  but,  during  July 
and  August,  they  often  remain  swimming  and  wading 
about  for  hours  at  once,  especially  on  sultry  days  and 
hot  nights,  as  much  from  the  coolness,  perhaps,  as  to 
free  themselves  from  the  torturous  swarms  of  mosquitoes 
and  "  moose-flies." 

Toward  the  end  of  September  the  moose  leaves  the 
lake's  shores,  and  resorts  to  the  high  ridges  and  mountain- 
sides. The  male  and  female  are  now  found  in  company. 
This  is  the  period  of  combat.  They  neglect  food,  and 
soon  become  thin.  The  terrific  bellow  of  the  male  is  now 
frequently  heard.  The  males  also  make  another  noise, 
which,  from  its  peculiar  sound,  hunters  call  "  chopping." 
It  is  made  by  striking  the  jaws  together  in  a  singular 
manner,  and  resembles  the  sound  of  an  axe  at  a  distance. 
They  also  emit  a  great  variety  of  strange  sounds  and 
cries  difficult  to  describe. 

About  the  first  of  October  they  again  return  to  the 
water,  and  linger  about  it  till  the  ice  begins  to  form ; 
when  they  once  more  return  to  the  high  lands  to  select 
their  winter-retreats. 


222  THE  MOOSE. 

The  old  males  and  females  never  yard  together; 
but  sometimes  young  animals  of  both  sexes  are  found 
together.  The  females  and  calves  habitually  yard  in 
company;  the  yoUng  animal  remaining  with  the  dam 
one  year  nearly. 

The  older  males  always  yard  alone ;  choosing  some 
lonely  knoll  or  mountain-peak,  where  they  live  solitary 
and  apart.  Indeed,  the  oldest  moose  are  veritable  her- 
mits, avoiding  the  haunts  of  other  moose,  and  frequent- 
ing some  retired  little  pond  or  stream.  But  the  younger 
males  are  very  gregarious. 

When  startled  from  a  yard  in  winter,  the  whole  herd 
will  burst  forth  at  one  point,  and  bound  off  one  after  the 
other ;  stepping  so  accurately  in  each  other's  tracks,  that 
none  save  an  experienced  hunter  could  determine  their 
number. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  in  this  State  (Maine) 
to  domesticate  the  moose.  A  very  singular  effort  of 
this  sort  once  came  under  the  writer's  notice  in  connec- 
tion with  a  rather  amusing  adventure.  In  company 
with  a  young  gentleman  from  Bangor,  I  was  on  my  way 
from  the  head  of  Lake  Chesuncook  to  Greenville,  at 
the  head  of  Moosehead  Lake,  by  what  is  known  as  the 
"  winter  road,"  —  a  trail  only  used  for  teams  after  snow 
has  fallen. 

Leaving  Morris's  Tavern,  we  were  following  the  trail 
on  foot,  with  the  expectation  of  spending  the  evening 
and  night  at  Woods's,  —  some  fifteen  miles  below. 

It  was  late  in  the  season,  —  the  last  of  November. 
The  weather  was  bitterly  cold;  the  sky  leaden  and 
threatening.  The  white-flecked  Emberiza  nivalis  (snow- 


THE  MOOSE.  223 

bunting),  in  snowy  flocks,  with  their  faint,  desolate  note, 
flitted  and  chirped  before  us,  telling  of  winter  that 
must  soon  follow.  By  noon  the  snow  began  to  fall. 
Lake,  mountain,  and  forest  raised  a  dreary  moan  as  the 
north-east  wind,  sweeping  down  from  the  bleak  Katah- 
din  rocks,  bore  on  the  storm. 

Greater  landscape  dreariness  can  scarcely  be  ima- 
gined than  that  presented  by  the  whole  face  of  the  coun- 
try about  us.  The  leaves  lay  bedded  brown  and  dank 
by  the  autumnal  rains  ;  while  through  the  bare,  cold 
branches  of  the  forest,  which  closed  in  on  both  sides  of 
the  trail,  the  fine  icy  snow  came  sifting  down,  and 
rattled  inclemently  on  the  dead  leaves. 

About  three  o'clock  we  crossed  Ragged  Stream,  and, 
an  hour  later,  sighted  Woods's  tavern-shanty.  But  alas 
.for  our  visions  of  warmth  and  supper  !  An  inhospitable 
shingle  nailed  to  the  door  announced  in  pitiless  red 
chalk,  that,  in  consequence  of  Woods's  absence,  the  tav- 
ern would  remain  closed  "till  day  after  to-morrow." 
Being  without  date,  the  information  was  liable  to  mis- 
construction; but  the  barred  door  was  conclusive.  We 
went  on  to  the  barn,  only  to  find  it  padlocked.  My 
companion  was  shivering  in  the  blast. 

"  No  help  for  it ! "  exclaimed  he.  "  We  must  go  on  to 
Ford's." 

Ford's  Tavern  was  about  sixteen  miles  below.  A 
rather  dismal  prospect,  with  night  at  hand,  and  the 
storm  increasing  about  us. 

We  had  gone  two  miles,  perhaps,  tramping  on  in 
silence,  the  snow  creaking  and  cracking  under  our  feet, 
when  my  companion  (Mr.  R.  P.  Smart)  suddenly 
stopped. 


224  THE  MOOSE. 

"  Don't  you  smell  smoke  ?  "  he  said. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  I  did.  Going  on  a  few  rods, 
another  very  distinct  whiff  of  smoke,  apparently  from 
burning  pine-knots,  reached  us. 

"  There's  either  a  camp  or  a  house  not  far  off,"  de- 
clared Smart.  "  It  is  to  the  windward  too,  —  somewhere 
to  the  left  of  us." 

On  examining  the  bushes  at  the  side  of  the  road  for 
a  few  rods,  we  discovered  what,  by  daylight,  would 
have  seemed  a  branch-trail,  leading  off  into  the  mixed 
growth.  The  odor  of  smoke  became  still  more  distinct 
as  we  followed  this  trail  in  from  the  road ;  and,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  hundred  yards,  we  came  abruptly  in  front  of 
a  dark,  mound-like  structure,  built  under  the  shelter 
of  a  clump  of  large  pines. 

"  Wigwam !  I  believe  my  soul  it's  a  wigwam  !  "  mut- 
tered Smart. 

"  Then  we  had  better  go  back,"  I  said,  as  a  vision  of 
pappooses,  fleas,  and  filthy  smoke -stench,  rose  in  imagi- 
nation. 

"Let's  see  what  is  here,  at  any  rate,"  said  Smart; 
and,  raising  the  stock  of  his  gun,  he  knocked  at  what 
seemed  a  door.  It  was  three  rough  boards  cleated 
together. 

The  howl  of  a  hound  responded,  followed  by  indistinct 
human  sounds. 

"Halloo!"  shouted  Smart,  pulling  aside  the  door, 
which  disclosed  a  shaggy  curtain  of  black  bear-skin 
within.  "  Halloo,  halloo  !  " 

The  dog  bayed ;  and  a  gruff  voice  bade  him  "  Git 
out!" 


THE  MOOSE.  225 

Then  the  bear-skin  was  pulled  aside  ;  and  a  rough, 
grizzled  head,  with  a  "goblin  eye,"  looked  wolfishly 
out. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  what  do  you  want  ? "  was  de- 
manded shortly,  and  in  plain  English. 

Smart  explained  briefly.  The  head  eyed  us  a  mo- 
ment. I  expected  nothing  less  than  a  peremptory  order* 
to  vamose.  But  the  bear-skin  was  lifted. 

"  Come  in  !  "  said  the  head  gruffly. 

We  edged  in.  Inside  the  hut  was  complete  black- 
ness ;  but  I  felt  a  big,  cold  nose  thrust  into  my  hand,  and 
heard  a  great  snuffing  up  and  down  my  legs.  There 
was  a  scraping  sound,  as  of  a  poker ;  and  the  glow  of 
coals  began  to  light  up  the  room,  showing  a  strange- 
looking  man,  clad  in  deer-skins,  bending  over  the 
fire,  and  a  big  hound  standing  between  us  and  his 
master. 

Splinters  were  thrown  on  the  coals.  The  blaze 
showed  the  log-sides  and  pole-roof  of  a  shanty  of  the 
most  primitive  design.  It  was  hung  round  with  snow- 
shoes,  moose-antlers,  bear-skins,  and  white-ash  basket- 
stuff.  Several  squared  sections  of  logs  served  as  chairs. 
We  ventured  to  take  possession  of  two  of  them.  The 
old  chap  stared  at  us  a  while  in  more  than  Indian 
silence. 

"  Had  any  supper  ?  "  he  at  length  growled. 

We  stated  our  case :  whereupon  he  brought  us  some 
cold  meat  —  the  flesh  of  a  caribou,  I  thought  —  on  a 
piece  of  rough  board.  It  looked  as  if  it  had  been  cut 
up  with  an  axe,  and  had  very  much  the  appearance  of 
soap-grease.  We  accepted  his  hospitality,  however,  and, 

15 


226  THE   MOOSE. 

holding  the  board  between  us,  proceeded  to  eat  the 
meat.  It  tasted  much  better  than  it  looked. 

After  we  had  eaten  it,  we  went  to  the  door,  and  took 
a  few  moutbfuls  of  snow  by  way  of  drink.  While  this 
was  going  on,  our  entertainer  sat  tossing  splinters  on 
the  fire  to  keep  up  the  blaze.  This  was  clearly  for  our 
'benefit;  for,  as  soon  as  we  had  finished  eating,  he  care- 
fully raked  up  the  fire,  and  then  lay  down  on  a  rick  of 
hemlock  which  extended  along  the  back-side  of  the 
wigwam. 

Not  a  word  was  said.  Our  host  seemed  a  veritable 
graduate  of  the  Academy  of  Silence.  Smart  and  I  lay 
back  upon  the  hemlock.  I  really  wanted  to  talk,  or  at 
least  whisper,  but  could  not  bring  myself  to  break  the 
stillness.  And  so  we  went  to  sleep. 

A  scraping  of  the  poker  on  the  stones  of  the  hearth 
awoke  me.  Our  friend  of  the  deer-skins  was  evidently 
up,  kindling  his  fire.  It  was  still  dark.  I  wondered 
whether  it  was  morning,  or  whether  the  strange  old 
fellow  was  about  to  enter  on  some  nocturnal  orgies. 

This  question  was  soon  settled  by  his  going  to  the 
entrance  to  pull  back  the  bear-skin,  and  push  aside  the 
door.  Instantly  the  full  light  of  day  streamed  in.  The 
wigwam  was  windowless. 

Smart  arose,  blinking  in  the  sudden  light.  I  went 
to  the  door.  The  snow  lay  to  the  depth  of  several 
inches ;  but  the  storm  had  abated  somewhat,  and  the 
wind  had  lulled.  I  was  looking  out,  and  thinking  of 
the  long  tramp  before  us,  when  Smart  touched  my  arm. 

Looking  round,  I  saw  the  old  man  standing  near  by 
with  another  board  of  meat.  Winking  hard  to  keep 


THE  MOOSE.  227 

sober,  we  received  the  ration.  Though  of  rather  for- 
bidding appearance,  it  was  substantial  food,  and  not  to 
be  refused  at  the  opening  of  a  long  tramp.  While  we 
were  eating,' the  strange  old  fellow  took  down  a  leg  of 
roast  venison  from  the  wall,  and,  with  a  butcher-knife 
that  had  been  thrust  into  the  log  beside  it,  slashed  off 
several  slices.  With  this  he  fed  the  dog ;  and,  while 
doing  it,  I  saw  him  throw  a  single  piece  into  his  own 
mouth.  This  he  swallowed  almost  as  quickly  as  the 
hound  could  have  done ;  and  it  was  all  the  breakfast  I 
saw  him  take. 

To  have  thanked  him"  for  either  the  meat  or  the  lodg- 
ing would  have  been  so  clearly  uncalled  for  and  out  of 
place,  that  we  did  not  venture  on  it. 

After  finishing  our  breakfast,  we  set  down  the  board, 
and  prepared  to  leave  the  hut. 

"  Hold  on ! "  our  entertainer  exclaimed  in  a  voice, 
that,  considering  the  previous  silence,  seemed  rather 
startling. 

We  faced  about  with  a  movement  very  much  like  a 
jump. 

"  You  can  ride  :  I'm  going  your  way,"  said  he. 

"  Ride  !  "  we  both  exclaimed. 

"  Yes,"  grimly,  "  if  you'll  hold  on,  and  help  tackle." 

We  told  him  that  we  would  try  to  do  both,  and 
should  also  be  very  thankful  for  the  favor.  Thereupon 
he  drew  over  his  head  and  ears  a  sort  of  fur  cowl  of 
black  skin,  and  went  out.  We  followed.  He  led  the 
way  back  among  the  pines  for  ten  or  a  dozen  rods. 
Suddenly  Smart  caught  my  arm.  "  Look  there !  A 
moose,  as  I'm  a  sinner ! " 


228  THE  MOOSE. 

A  few  yards  away  stood  a  large,  full-grown  moose, 
near  the  trunk  of  a  birch.  We  both  stopped  in  amaze- 
ment, regretting  that  our  guns  were  back  in  the  shanty. 
But,  to  our  still  greater  astonishment,  the  old  man 
walked  directly  up  to  the  animal. 

"Whoa,  Tike!"  he  shouted  as  the  huge  creature 
reared,  and  struck  at  him  with  its  fore-feet. 

"  Tied  ! "  exclaimed  Smart. 

I  now  saw  that  a  great  thong  of  raw  hide  ran  from 
the  animal's  neck  to  a  tree-trunk. 

"  Whoa,  whoa,  Tike ! "  exclaimed  his  master  as  the 
beast  continued  to  strike  ponderously,  and  gnash  its 
yellow-white  tushes.  "Whoa,  whoa!" 

But  Tike  was  ugly,  and  wouldn't  whoa.  His  nostrils 
quivered,  and  his  eyes  glared  with  fierce  rage. 

"  Ah  !  "  growled  the  old  man,  "  forgot  yesterday  so 
soon,  have  ye  ?  I'll  tame  ye  ! " 

Saying  this,  he  seized  a  heavy  pole  of  green'  black 
ash  that  stood  a'gainst  a  tree,  and  began  beating  the 
creature  with  might  and  main.  It  was  a  strange  and 
a  savage  sight.  Smart  did  not  think  best  to  interfere ; 
and  I  could  but  look  on  in  wonder,  and  at  a  distance. 

The  great  animal  reared  and  plunged  and  snorted, 
uttering  each  moment  most  hideous  whines  and  bray- 
ings.  The  man  —  if  man  he  could  be  called  —  darted 
from  side  to  side,  striking  him  furiously  with  the  pole. 

At  length  the  brute  leaned  sullenly  against  the  tree 
like  a  contrary  mule,  neither  stirring  nor  whining.  His 
master  then  began  to  prod  him,  and  bore  the  end  of  the 
pole  between  his  ribs,  till,  unable  to  hold  out  longer, 
the  conquered  beast  whined  out  his  submission. 


THE  MOOSE.  229 

"  There ! "  exclaimed  our  host,  throwing  down  the 
pole  :  "  he's  gin  in.  Now  we'll  tackle  him." 

He  then  went  to  a  tree  a  few  rods  away,  and  turned 
down  a  large  sled  which  had  stood  against  it. 

We  had  already  surmised  that  the  moose  and  sled 
were  to  furnish  the  combination  out  of  which  we  were 
to  get  our  ride,  and  made  haste  to  assist  in  dragging 
the  sled  along  toward  the  moose.  The  man  then  took 
from  a  limb  a  number  of  thick,  strong  thongs  of  green 
hide.  These  he  threw  upon  the  sled,  and  —  quite  fear- 
lessly, we  thought  —  untied  the  moose's  halter,  and 
backed  the  huge  creature  up  to  the  forward-end  of  the 
sled. 

"  Now  hold  the  halter,"  said  he. 

Smart  and  I  approached,  and  cautiously  held  the 
thong  that  was  around  his  neck. 

The  old  fellow  then  turned  over  the  broad  thills,  and 
slipped  on  his  skin-harness.  This  done,  he  took  the 
pole,  and,  brandishing  it  in  a  fierce  manner  before  the 
moose's  eyes,  told  him  repeatedly  to  "  See  that ! "  and 
"  See  there,  you,  Tike ! " 

After  this  prophetic  castigation,  several  longer  thongs 
were  tied  into  holes  in  the  moose's  antlers,  to  be  used 
for  reins ;  and  he  was  driven  along  to  the  door  of  the 
shanty.  The  man  then  seated  himself  on  the  front 
part,  with  his  feet  braced,  and  the  reins  drawn  tight. 
We  got  on  behind  him  with  our  guns. 

"  Hold  hard ! »  said  he. 

We  clutched  at  the  bars,  but  not  a  moment  too  soon  ; 
for,  at  that  instant,  our  singular  driver  gave  the  moose 
a  sweeping  blow  with  a  long  birch-sapling,  which  stood 
in  one  of  the  stake-holes  like  a  whip  in  its  socket. 


230  THE  MOOSE. 

With  a  bound  and  a  jerk  which  came  near  taking 
every  thing  by  the  board,  the  moose  sprang  away. 

One  who  has  never  seen  a  moose  run  can  get  no  idea 
of  the  tremendous  "  yanks  "  with  which  we  were  carried 
along.  We  held  to  the  sled  frantically  for  dear  life. 
The  "  cradle-knolls "  along  the  road-way  had  never 
been  levelled  :  old  logs  and  stones  abounded. 

Over  such  a  track  we  were  borne  (I  understate  it, 
I  honestly  believe)  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  two 
minutes.  Sometimes  the  sled  was  two  feet  from  the 
ground,  sometimes  four,  and  several  times  on  a  level 
with  the  moose's  back,  who  was  clearing  ten  yards  at 
a  plunge. 

The  animal  ran  with  the  enormous  awkwardness  of 
its  species,  taking  fifteen  and  twenty  feet  at  each  un- 
wieldy bound,  and  discharging  volleys  of  "  snowballs  " 
from  its  hoofs  at  every  leap.  Had  the  snow  been  damp, 
we  should  have  been  literally  pelted  from  the  sled. 
As  it  was,  the  snow  was  thrown  up  in  clots,  which, 
dissolving  in  the  wind,  sifted  down  upon  us  in  showers. 
Besides  this,  "the  hoofs  of  the  moose  went  through  to  the 
ground  at  every  step,  and  cast  up  dead  leaves,  rotten 
wood,  turf,  and  gravel,  miscellaneously ;  so  that,  min- 
gled with  the  snow,  a  whirlwind  of  dry  leaves  flew 
over  us,  while  small  stones  and  frozen  chunks  of  earth 
went  past  our  heads  in  a  frightful  hail. 

The  track  behind  was  gouged  up,  from  knoll  to  knoll, 
in  a  series  of  short  ruts ;  and  all  the  snowy  wayside  was 
strewn  with  leaves,  yellow  punk,  and  dirt.  If  Hghtrting 
had  taken  a  notion  to  make  a  journey  along  the  trail, 
it  might  have  made  a  similar  track.  That  any  team  of 


THE  MOOSE.  231 

human  harnessing  ever  left  any  thing  resembling  it,  I 
greatly  doubt. 

Amid  these  terrific  bumps  and  leaps,  and  shoots  on 
one  runner,  our  venerable  teamster,  his  furs  clotted  with 
snow  and  dead  grass,  sat  with  his  feet  braced  against 
the  "  roll "  of  the  sled,  and  the  lines  drawn  so  tightly, 
that  his  shaggy  body  scarcely  touched  the  bar  on  which 
he  made  a  pretence  of  sitting.  His  whole  weight  was 
thrown  upon  the  lines  to  draw  down  the  moose's  antlers 
from  their  upright  attitude  ;  thus  raising  the  creature's 
nose  horizontally  with  their  base. 

I  remember  catching  glimpses  of  its  large,  bulging 
glassy  eyes  over  the  black  shag  of  its  head  as  we  were 
now  and  then  dashed  up  to  a  level  with  its  rump. 
Every  moment  I  expected  the  moose  would  leave  the 
road,  and  strike  off  into  the  forest.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
strength  of  the  driver  could  not  hinder  him  from  doing 
so,  should  he  attempt  it. 

The  moose  kept  the  road,  however;  and,  in  an  in- 
credibly short  time,  I  saw  Ford's  on  the  rising  ground 
ahead.  We  had  come  over  twelve  or  thirteen  miles  in 
less  than  forty  minutes,  I  am  confident. 

About  a  hundred  rods  from  the  tavern,  the  old  man, 
by  dint  of  hard  pulling  and  sawing  of  the  reins, 
brought  the  creature  to  a  stand-still  in  front  of  a  high, 
overturned  root  beside  the  road;  and,  somewhat  to  our 
astonishment,  —  for  we  supposed  he  was  going  to  Ford's, 
—  he  began  to  turn  the  moose  about. 

"  Going  back  ?  "  exclaimed  Smart. 

"  Yes  :  I  don't  go  near  them  taverns." 

"  That's  a  spirited  beast  of  yours,"  I  ventured  to  say. 


232  THE  MOOSE. 

"He  does  for  me,"  replied  the  man  with  a  grim 
smile. 

"  How  did  you  catch  him  ?  "  Smart  asked. 

"  Mired  him  in  the  bog  back  of  my  place ;  then 
starved  him  down." 

Smart  took  out  a  two-dollar  bill. 

"  Take  this  for  our  ride,"  said  he. 

The  old  man  looked  steadily  at  him  a  moment  with 
the  goblin  eye;  then  gave  the  moose  another  cut  from 
the  birch-sapling.  With  a  bound  and  a  flurry  of  snow 
they  were  gone. 

A  young  New-Yorker,  with  whom  we  are  in  corre- 
spondence on  yachting-matters  connected  with  the  plan 
of  starting  a  college  steamship  *  for  young  gentlemen, 
has  sent  us  the  following  exciting  adventure  with 
moose  in  Maine;  so  graphically  described,  that  we  owe 
him  an  apology  for  placing  it  after  our  own  tamer  de- 
scriptions. Modesty,  quite  uncalled  for  on  his  part,  im- 
pels him  to  withhold  his  name. 

"  It  was  our  sixth  week  in  the  wilderness,  —  thirty-nine 
days  since  we  stood  at  the  head  of  Moosehead  Lake,  and 
saw  the  little  steamer  which  had  set  us  ashore  paddle 
away  on  her  return  voyage  to  Greenville.  Turning 
northward,  we  then  crossed  the  narrow  portage  over  to 
the  West  Branch  of  the  Penobscot.  Thence  proceeding 
down  the  southern  bank  to  Pine-stream  Falls,  we  had 
crossed  on  the  rocks  and  logs,  as  the  water  was  low,  and 
struck  off  northward  again  on  our  tour  into  the  wild 
lands. 

*  See  Vol.  VI.  of  this  series. 


THE  MOOSE.  233 

"Fifteen  thousand  square  miles  of  forest,  lake,  and 
stream,  were  before  us.  We  had  entered  it  feeling  much 
as 'the  earlier  voyagers  on  the  ocean  must  have  felt. 
Before  us  and  around  us,  on  every  side,  there  stretched 
away  an  unexplored  wilderness ;  and  every  day  disclosed 
some  new  wonder  of  scenery  in  that  endless  diversity  of 
lakes  in  their  black  spruce-setting  which  only  Northern 
Maine  can  boast. 

"  To  understand  the  novelty  and  the  enchantment  of 
the  region,  the  tourist  must  go  there,  —  wander  on,  as 
our  little  party  of  five  did,  from  nameless  lake  to  name- 
less lake,  and,  guided  only  by  our  faithful  compass  and 
the  constant  sun,  traverse  unbroken  forests,  and  encamp 
on  dashing  streams  that  had  never  before  mirrored  a 
civilized  face. 

"  I  cannot  tell  the  name  of  the  sheet  of  water  upon 
which  we  were  encamped  on  the  evening  of  my  story. 
I  do  not  know  that  it  has  a  name ;  though  it  would  be 
indeed  singular  if  the  all-observing  eye  of  the  Indian 
had  not  detected  some  peculiarity  by  means  of  which  to 
distinguish  it  among  his  dusky  brothers.  It  was  the 
thirteenth  sheet  of  water  we  had  passed  since  leaving  the 
West  Branch,  if  my  account  was  correct ;  and  was  a  long, 
irregular  expanse,  with  the  gray,  precipitous  face  of  a 
high  granite  mountain  overhanging  its  opposite  shore 
at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  more. 

"  The  evening  was  chilly,  as  late  September  evenings 
generally  are  in  latitudes  so  high  (46°  43'  N.).  Our 
camp-fire  felt  very  comfortable :  we  had  built  it  a  few 
rods  up  from  the  water  to  avoid  the  dampness. 

"  A  clump  of  thick-set  firs  sheltered  us  on  three  sides. 


234 


THE  MOOSE. 


We  had  just  finished  a  roast  haunch  of  caribou,  and  lay 
stretched  out  on  shake-downs  of  balsam-boughs,  with  our 
feet  to  the  blaze,  looking  out  on  the  lake  and  the  dark- 
shaded  mountain  opposite,  the  black  outline  of  which 
seemed  engraved  in  the  sky,  already  silvered  with  the 
rising  moon.  As  we  chatted,  the  broad  red  disk  loomed 
suddenly  up,  and  a  long  glittering  line  traced  its  path 
across  the  lake. 

"Hitherto  the  woods  had  been  still  as  the  shadows  that 
rested  over  them ;  but  the  rising  of  the  moon  seemed  to 
rouse  all  the  nocturnal  prowlers.  Cries  from  near  and 
far  began  to  be  heard.  These  were  replied  to  by  an- 
swering cries,  as  raccoons,  bears,  and  lynxes  bestirred 
their  slumbers,  and  sallied  out  for  a  busy  night. 

"The  dogs  pricked  up  their  ears,  and  listened  with 
gruff  little  barks,  looking  off  into  the  dim  moonlit  scene, 
with  an  occasional  servile  look  toward  us,  waiting  for 
a  nod  of  permission  to  race  off  after  their  hereditary  ene- 
mies the  wild-cats. 

" '  Romantic,  isn't  it  ? '  said  young  Spriggs,  sitting 
up,  and  holding  the  toes  of  his  moccasons  in  his  hands. 

" '  Romantic  ?  Yes ;  it's  more  than  that/  said  Nimms, 
the  Cambridge  boy.  '  It's  utterly  savage  ! ' 

"  '  Not  the  place  for  the  eveaing  paper,  is  it  ? '  said 
Rowe. 

" '  Really,'  exclaimed  Spriggs,  '  I  had  quite  forgotten 
there  was  such  a  thing.  But  it's  wonderful  how  much 
a  fellow  can  forget  in  six  weeks.' 

"  'It  does  look  as  if  one  might  relapse  into  barbarism 
or  monkeyism.  Just  see  how .  naturally  and  ape-like 
Spriggs  squats  on  the  ground  there  !  He  takes  to  his 
ancestral  habits  as  naturally  as  Darwin  could  wish.' 


THE  MOOSE.  235 

"  ' I  deny  it ! '  exclaimed  Spriggs,  straightening  up. 
'  That's  a  very  fair  illustration  of  the  slight  grounds  on 
which  you  scientific  fellows  build  a  theory.' 

"Just  as  Nimms  was  about  to  reply,  another  voice  was 
heard  ;  and  a  very  extraordinary  one  it  was.  It  seemed 
a  sort  of  mixture  of  the  bellow  of  an  ox  and  the  whine 
of  a  camel  (about  as  much  of  one  as  the  other)  ;  so  loud, 
that  it  fairly  drowned  out  Nimms's  exclamation  of  sur- 
prise ;  'though  evidently  the  creature  that  made  it  was 
some  little  distance  back  in  the  woods.  We  all  jumped 
up :  the  dogs  growled. 

" '  What  in  the  world  is  that  ? '  exclaimed  Melcher. 

"  <  Hark ! ' 

"  There  followed  a  great  snapping  and  crashing  of 
brush,  accompanied  by  a  strange  clattering  sound.  The 
dogs  fairly  howled  in  their  excitement. 

"  The  noise  out  in  the  forest  increased :  a  whole  com- 
pany of  cavalry  could  hardly  have  made  a  greater  racket, 
and  smashing  of  the  bushes.  We  stood  staring  at  each 
other,  and  listening  with  apprehensive  astonishment. 
Suddenly  the  curious  bellowing  was  repeated  once,  twice, 
thrice  ;  and  then  another  took  it  up.  Such  sounds  !  It 
would  be  impossible  to  give  the  reader  any  idea  of  them 
on  paper.  In  addition  to  their  unearthly  loudness,  there 
was  a  frightful,  guttural  intonation,  as  of  fierce  anger. 

" '  It's  some  sort  of  a  fight ! '  whispered  Rowe.  '  Where 
did  we  set  those  guns  ?  Are  they  all  loaded  ? ' 

"  There  was  a  general  scramble  to  arms.  The  noise  in 
the  brush  continued,  with  a  heavy  stamping  and  jar  of 
the  ground,  which  came  nearer,  followed  by  a  nearer 
bellow. 


236  THE  MOOSE. 

" '  They  are  coming  tliis  way,  sure ! '  muttered  Nimms. 
'Be  ready  for  them  ! ' 

"  We  hastily  cocked  our  guns,  and  stood  prepared  to 
shoot.  The  fir-thicket  back  of  our  fire  rustled  and  shook 
as  the  huge  creatures  —  whatever  they  were  —  rushed 
through  it ;  but  instead  of  coming  in  upon  our  camp,  as 
we  expected,  they  seemed  to  sheer  to  the  right,  and  went 
down  to  the  water  some  fifteen  rods  above  us.  Bounding 
from  the  bank  into  the  lake  with  heavy  splashes,  they 
swam  out  into  view  with  plunges  and  a  great  spattering 
of  the  water.  We  were  now  able  to  see  two  black  heads, 
one  behind  the  other. 

"  '  They  can't  be  bears,'  said  Spriggs  ;  '  for  they  are 
too  large,  and  the  creatures  make  too  great  a  racket.' 

" '  And  too  great  a  bellowing,  I  should  imagine,'  said 
Melcher,  laughing.  'But  we  can  find  out,  I  guess,  by 
looking  at  the  tracks.  Light  some  torches.' 

"  A  pitch-pine  knot,  with  a  stick  thrust  into  its  hollow 
end,  was  lighted  at  the  fire ;  and  we  left  the  camp  to 
examine  the  trail.  Following  along  the  shore  to  the 
place  where  the  animals  had  jumped  into  the  water,  we 
there  found  the  sand  and  mud  thrown  up.  Melcher  had 
the  torch. 

" '  Hoofs  ! '  exclaimed  he,  holding  it  down. 

"  'Ah  !  they  were  moose,  then  ! '  cried  Nimms. 

"  'That's  just  it,'  said  Rowe.  'But  what  could  they 
have  been  doing,  making  such  a  din  and  roaring  ?  Now 
I  think  of  it,  it  must  have  been  their  antlers  that  made 
the  clattering.  They  were  fighting.' 

" '  Let  me  see.  September  ?  Why,  this  is  the  season 
when  the  moose-stags  don't  love  each  other,  or  are  jealous 


THE  MOOSE.  237 

of  the  favor  of  their  sweethearts,  and  fight  like  "  green- 
eyed  Spaniards," '  said  Spriggs.  *  Those  were  a  couple 
of  stags  fighting.' 

"  '  But  moose  are  generally  very  shy,'  said  I.  '  They 
would  have  smelled  our  fire  a  mile  off,  and  heard  us 
talking  too.' 

" '  Yes ;  but,  during  the  latter  part  of  September  and 
October,  the  stags  grow  savage,  and  care  for  nothing,' 
said  Spriggs.  '  They  are  deaf  and  blind  to  every  thing 
but  fighting  off  rivals.  An  old  river-driver  on  the  Pe- 
nobscot  told  me  that  one  stag  would  fight  another,  and 
chase  him  off  twenty  miles  sometimes,  and  that  they 
often  kill  each  other  in  these  encounters.' 

"  There  was  now  no  doubt  that  these  were  moose  that 
had  passed  us.  We  could  still  hear  them  swimming  far 
out  in  the  lake. 

"'  Well,  they  are  making  a  straight  line  for  the  other 
shore,'  said  Melcher.  '  They  are  only  illustrating  the 
old  feudal  principle :  might  makes  right  on  their  do- 
mains. The  weaker  must  submit,  or  take  himself  out 
of  the  way,  whether  he  is  the  lawful  possessor  or  not.' 

"  'But  won't  the  stronger  one  be  likely  to  come  back  ? ' 
said  Rowe.  '  The  cow-moose  —  the  fair  one  who  has 
been  the  cause  of  this  battle  —  has  probably  been  left  in 
the  woods  behind  us.' 

" '  There's  a  natural  inference  for  you,'  said  Spriggs. 
'If  the  " brave  deserve  the  fair,"  and  win  them  by  force 
of  muscle,  of  course  they  seek  their  reward  in  the  bright 
eyes  of  their  charmers.  That  being  the  case,  that  stag 
will  come  back  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  hard-won  battles. 
We  can  do  no  better  than  to  wait  for  his  return,  and 
offer  our  congratulations.' 


288  THE  MOOSE. 

"  As  lie  was  speaking,  a  hoarse  bellowing  came  from 
the  other  shore. 

" '  They  are  having  another  set-to  over  there,  I  guess,' 
said  Nimms.  '  Suppose  we  make  an  amhuscade  for  the 
survivor,  as  Spriggs  suggests.  We  can  make  ourselves 
comfortable  in  that  little  clump  of  hemlocks  up  there, 
and  take  turns  watching  for  this  ardent  lover.  There 
will  be  no  difficulty  in  hearing  him  as  he  swims  across 
the  lake.' 

"  Howe  and  Melcher  went  back  to  put  out  the  fire ; 
while  Nimms,  Spriggs,  and  I  tore  oif  a  mass  of  green 
boughs  for  a  bed. 

" '  It  won't  pay  for  all  of  us  to  keep  awake,'  said 
Nimms.  '  I'll  watch  an  hour,  and  then  wake  Spriggs. 
He  can  practise  for  an  hour  in  learning  how  to  keep  his 
eyes  open,  and  then  wake  you.' 

"  In  a  few  minutes,  Melcher  and  Howe  came  with  the 
rubber-blankets ;  and  we  called  in  the  dogs,  and  tied 
them  with  withs. 

"I  was  soon  asleep,  and  knew  no  more  till  Spriggs 
woke  me  to  take  my  hour  of  watching.  It  wa^s  very 
dark,  and  had  grown  foggy  and  damp.  The  wind  was 
fresh  from  the  lake,  and  seemed  laden  with  rank,  mucky 
smells. 

"'No  signs  of  the  moose  yet,'  said  Spriggs.  'But 
watch  an  hour,  and  then  wake  Melcher.' 

"  It  was  too  dark  to  watch ;  but  I  could  listen.  Sitting 
on  a  log,  with  my  gun  in  readiness,  I  passed  my  hour 
without  hearing  any  sounds,  save  the  clear  alto-call  of 
the  great  Northern  diver,  and  an  occasional  screech  from 
some  prowling  lynx.  I  came  near  going  to  sleep  at  my 


THE  MOOSE.  239 

post,  but  finally  roused  enough  to  stir  up  Melcher  and 
creep  into  his  nest. 

"  It  was  daybreak  before  my  turn  came  again.  I  had 
got  well  rested. 

"  'We've  had  our  watching  for  nothing,'  said  Spriggs. 
*  The  old  fellow  isn't  so  ardent  in  his  afiections  as  we 
supposed,  or  else  he's  gone  another  way.' 

"  The  fog  still  rested  darkly  on  the  water ;  but  high 
over  it  to  the  eastward  the  gray  light  of  dawn  had  begun 
to  show.  Gradually  the  trees  took  shape  out  of  the  black- 
ness. A  flock  of  ducks  (wood-ducks)  came  whirring  out 
of  the  fog  from  the  other  shore ;  and  just  then  I  detected 
a  paddling  sound.  It  might  be  the  moose  just  starting 
off  from  the  opposite  bank,  or  it  might  be  a  musk-rat 
only  a  few  rods  away.  I  couldn't  tell,  and  so  waited, 
listening  so  absorbedly,  that  I  scarcely  noticed  a  cracking 
of  the  twigs  in  the  woods  behind  us,  thinking  it  was 
nothing  more  than  a  bevy  of  hares  tearing  along. 

"Just  then,  however,  a  deep  snort,  followed  by  a  growl 
from  one  of  the  dogs,  caught  my  ear ;  and,  turning  hasti- 
ly, I  saw  a  large  female  moose  a  few  rods  back  among 
the  spruces,  staring  with  great  round  eyes  at  the  low 
hemlock,  in  the  shadow  of  which  I  stood. 

"  It  occurred  to  me  in  a  moment  that  the  cow-moose 
had  followed  on  after  the  contending  stags,  and  come  upon 
us  unexpectedly :  so,  raising  my  gun,  I  fired  on  the  in- 
stant full  at  the  great  animal's  front.  The  unwieldy 
creature  turned  with  a  rearing  bound,  and  a  cry  not  al- 
together unlike  the  squeal  of  a  horse.  Those  who  have 
heard  the  more  painful  cry  of  the  horse  when  wounded 
on  the  battle-field  can  gain  a  better  idea  of  the  sound. 


240  THE  MOOSE. 

The  cry  was  answered  or  echoed,  I  hardly  noticed  which, 
from  the  lake.  The  boys  sprang  up  at  the  report,  with 
a  general  shout  of — 

"' What  is  it?' 

"  '  Moose  ! '  I  exclaimed,  and,  catching  up  Nimms's 
loaded  gun,  ran  on  in  pursuit. 

"  The  others  followed  not  far  behind.  There  was  blood 
on  the  yellow  leaves,  and  I  could  hear  the  moose  running 
off.  Hoping  to  come  up  near  enough  for  another  shot, 
I  ran  on  as  fast  as  I  could,  for  fully  a  hundred  rods,  to 
where  a  thick  growth  of  alders  bordered  a  low,  swampy 
tract. 

"Spriggs  and  Melcher  were  closing  in  behind  me.  I 
could  hear  the  moose  floundering  through  the  bog,  and 
pushed  in  among  the  alders.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
alder-border  the  ground  was  miry  and  spongy  with  moss. 
A  growth  of  tangled  cranberry-bushes  was  before  me ; 
but,  stimulated  by  a  glimpse  of  the  moose's  head  over 
them,  I  struggled  in,  and  tried  to  wallow  over  the  dense 
tangles. 

"Suddenly  two  reports  rang  out  from  behind,  followed 
by  a  loud  shout  from  Spriggs.  Looking  back,  I  saw  the 
boys  running  wildly  through  the  alders,  and  looking 
behind  them. 

"  '  The  moose !  the  old  moose-stag  ! '  shouted  Spriggs, 
throwing  himself  among  the  cranberries. 

"I  did  not  see  what  became  of  the  other  fellows;  for, 
just  as  Spriggs  dived  into  the  shrubbery,  another  moose, 
with  prodigious  branching  antlers,  came  rushing  through 
the  alders,  and,  seeing  me  standing  partially  on  the  brush, 
uttered  a  tremendous  bellow,  and  bounded  straight  for 


THE  MOOSE.  241 

me.  Its  hoofs  went  down  into  the  mud  nearly  to  its. 
knees,  and  were  pulled  out  with  a  loud  noise  of  suction. 
But  this  was  no  obstacle  to  its  progress.  Its  shaggy 
hair  was  dripping  with  water ;  blood  came  from  several 
wounds  in  its  breast  and  shoulders ;  its  muffle  was  drawn 
up,  disclosing  its  great  yellow-white  tushes  ;  and  its  eyes 
had  a  terrific,  bloodshot  look. 

"The  onslaught  was  so  sudden,  that  I  stood  staring 
during  the  moment  I  might  have  fired.  Another  leap, 
and  the  beast  was  close  upon  me.  Dropping  amid  the 
clumps  of  cranberry,  I  wriggled  in  under  the  brush,  and 
burrowed  along  like  a  mole  through  soft  mud  and  water, 
stirring  up  a  most  fetid  stench,  and  expecting  every 
second  to  feel  the  moose's  ponderous  hoofs  come  down 
upon  my  back.  I  could  hear  it  plunging  in  the  mud 
and  brush ;  but  all  at  once  there  was  silence. 

" '  He's  mired  ! '  shouted  Melcher. 

"  I  poked  up  my  head.  The  boys  were  coming  out  of 
the  bushes  from  various  directions ;  and  the  moose  lay 
floundering  and  wallowing,  up  to  its  huge  body  in  the 
bog,  almost  on  the  same  spot  I  had  been  standing  when 
he  charged  on  me. 

"  Finding  him  fairly  caught,  we  began  to  close  in  upon 
him.  Such  a  picture  of  baffled  rage  I  never  could  have 
imagined.  The  great,  brute  shook  its  antlers,  plunged 
and  bellowed.  The  whole  forest  resounded  to  his  hideous 
bowlings.  He  seemed  perfectly  frenzied. 

"  Spriggs  worked  round  in  front  of  the  animal,  and, 
taking  careful  aim,   fired.     With  a  mighty,   muscular 
bound,  the  great  creature  threw  itself  clean  out  of  the 
mud  upon  the  bushes,  and  almost  instantly  died. 
16 


242  THE  MOOSE. 

"  Meanwhile  the  other  moose  had  floundered  through 
the  swamp,  and  escaped.  We  did  not  pursue  it.  One  of 
the  huge  animals  was  enough  for  us.  We  had  disagree- 
ahle  work  in  getting  the  dead  warrior  out  of  the  bog, 
and  getting  the  mud  from  his  hide  and  from  ourselves. 
My  little  creeping  excursion  under  the  brush  had  made 
me  especially  muddy  and  yellow;  but  the  'steaks' we 
had  that  morning  repaid  me. 

"The  antlers  of  the  stag  measured  between  six  and 
seven  feet  across  the  top,  and  must  have  weighed  fully 
seventy-five  pounds.  Spriggs  estimated  the  gross  weight 
of  the  carcass  at  thirteen  hundred  pounds." 

Still  another  instance  where  a  wounded  moose  has 
turned  upon  his  hunter  was  told  me  only  last  season. 

In  one  of  the  lakes  of  that  singular  system  which 
form  the  northern  reservoir  of  the  Penobscot  River,  there 
is,  at  a  distance  of  twenty  yards  from  the  shore,  a  large 
bowlder,  or  ledge,  of  a  curiously  white,  limy  appearance. 

Passing  it  last  September  in  company  with  an  old 
hunter  named  Olives,  who  has  spent  the  most  of  his  life 
in  this  wild  region,  I  alluded  to  its  singular  shape  and 
color. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  old  man  :  "  cur'us  rock.  I've  named 
it  too." 

"  Named  it  ?    What  do  you  call  it,  pray  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  call  it  <  Moose  Bock.'  " 

"  Why  Moose  Kock  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  the  old  fellow,  setting 'the  butt  of  his 
gun  down  into  the  white  sand,  and  leaning  with  folded 
arms  upon  the  muzzle,  "  I'll  tell  ye.  About  twenty  years 
ago,  I  came  in  through  here,  one  fall,  after  beaver." 


THE  MOOSE.  243 

t(  Were  there  beaver  here  ?  "  I  interrupted  craftily. 

"Yes,  sir-ee.  Twenty  years  ago,  there  were.  I  shot 
seventeen  that  year  on  the  streams  around  here." 

"  I  suppose  they  are  all  gone  now,"  I  rejoined. 

"Well,  mostly.  Folks  think  so.  But,  between  you 
and  me,  I  know  of  two  or  three  streams  in  this  State 
where  new  houses  are  built  every  season." 

"  I  presume  you  wouldn't  care  to  tell  a  fellow  where 
those  streams  are,  would  you  ?  "  I  ventured. 

"  Not  particular  about  it,"  said  the  old  chap.  "  As  I 
was  saying,  I  had  come  in  here  after  beaver,  and  built  a 
camp  on  a  stream  about  six  miles  from  here.  I  had  only 
brought  up  salt  and  powder  (depended  on  game  en- 
tirely for  food)  ;  and  one  afternoon,  after  finishing  the 
last  quarter  of  deer-meat  for  my  dinner,  I  loaded  up  my 
gun,  and  started  out  to  look  up  a  fresh  supply. 

"  But,  somehow,  there  wasn't  any  thing  in  sight  that 
day.  There  are  some  such  days,  when  you  can't  get  your 
eye  on  a  thing.  Woods  will  be  as  still  as  if  they  were 
deserted.  Go  through  the  next  day,  and  you  will  see 
deer  or  partridges  at  every  step.  I  had  come  from  my 
camp  clean  over  to  the  shore  of  the  lake  here  without 
seeing  any  thing  bigger  than  a  squirrel.  I  was  just 
a-going  to  cut  a  pole,  and  go  to  fishing  for  lake-trout, 
when  I  thought  I  heard  a  crackling  off  to  the  right  there. 
I  stopped  and  harked.  Pretty  quick  I  heard  it  again, 
and  felt  sure  that  some  creature  was  coming  along  among 
the  bushes.  So  I  just  curled  down  behind  a  log, -and 
waited  for  it  to  come  out  in  sight. 

"  It  kept  cracking  and  snapping. 

"  I  began  to  wonder  what  it  was  about ;  when,  seeing 


244  THE  MOOSE. 

a  clump  of  little  moose-woods  swaying,  I  looked  sharper, 
and  espied  a  noble  pair  of  antlers  through  the  leaves. 
'Twas  a  moose,  browsing.  He  had  come  down  to 
the  lake  to  drink,  and  was  feeding  his  way  along  the 
shore. 

"  I  brought  my  gun  to  bear  across  the  log,  and,  just  as 
the  crackling  was  renewed,  managed  to  cock  it  without 
startling  him.  In  a  moment  more  he  stepped  out  in 
sight,  —  a  tremendous  fellow,  nine  or  ten  feet  high.  I 
took  aim  straight  at  his  breast,  and  blazed  away. 

"  The  first  thing  I  heard  after  the  report  was  the  most 
hideous  whine  you  ever  heard.  It  sounded  like  a  howl 
and  bleat  together.  And  such  a  rearing  and  smashing 
among  the  bushes  ! 

"  I  began  to  load  as  quick  as  I  could ;  but,  before  I 
could  get  the  charge  in,  the  moose  started  off  at  a  run 
out  into  the  woods,  —  not  exactly  towards  me,  but  off  to 
the  right  of  me.  I  don't  think  the  creature  had  seen  me 
at  all.  Didn't  know  from  what  direction  he  had  been 
hit. 

"  I  shook  in  the  priming,  and,  clapping  down  the  pan- 
cover,  ran  on  after  the  moose.  A  little  way  back  from 
the  water  there  was  a  thick  belt  of  alders.  Diving  in 
among  these,  I  struggled  through  them  ;  and,  on  coining 
out  on  the  other  side,  there  stood  the  moose.  He  had 
faced  about,  and  stood  stamping,  and  grinding  his  teeth. 
The  moment  I  came  in  sight  through  the  brush,  he 
rushed  at  me  with  a  hideous  bellow. 

"  There  wasn't  even  time  to  fire  a  cocked  gun.  I 
dodged  aside,  and  tried  to  skulk  off  among  the  alders 
Indian-fashion ;  but  the  moose  had  his  eye  well  on  me, 


THE  MOOSE.  245 

and  came  plunging  after  me  so  close,  that  I  was  glad  ^o 
dig  out  on  the  other  side,  and  jump  behind  a  big  bass- 
wood. 

"I  had  barely  got  behind  it  when  both  the  animal's 
hoofs  came  down,  one  on  one  side  of  me,  the  other  on  the 
other.  'Twas  the  narrowest  s-have  I  ever  had.  One  hoof 
hit  the  barrel  of  my  gun,  and  knocked  it  out  of  my 
hands  quick  as  a  wink.  Before  the  creature  could  re- 
cover itself  to  rear  again,  I  darted  away  to  another 
tree,  doubled  and  dodged  to  another  with  the  moose 
bounding  after  me,  till  I  got  back  to  the  shore  here,  the 
critter  coming  straight  at  me,  snorting,  and  grinding  his 
teeth.  I  had  noticed  that  rock  when  I  came  along,  and 
now  ran  into  the  water  up  to  my  neck,  and  struck  out 
for  it.  A  few  kicks  took  me  across  the  narrowest  part 
here. 

"  I  scrambled  up  on  to  the  rock,  and  turned  to  see  if 
the  moose  was  coming  out.  There  stood  the  old  varmint 
in  the  water  up  to  his  breast,  shaking  his  horns  like  a 
mad  ox.  I  slunk  down  on  the  other  side  of  the  rock, 
with  my  legs  in  the  water,  and  ducked  my  head  out  of 
sight.  I  didn't  want  to  provoke  him. 

"  After  crouching  there  for  some  minutes,  I  peeped  up. 
But  the  moose  stood  there,  eying  me  grimly.  The  wound 
in  his  breast  was  bleeding,  and  had  crimsoned  the  water 
before  him. 

"  It  was  now  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  had  come  in 
cloudy.  The  prospect  of  spending  the  night  on  that  rock, 
without  any  supper,  wasn't  very  pleasant ;  but  there  was 
the  moose,  with  no  intention  of  retiring  that  I  could 
see. 


246  THE  MOOSE. 

"A  fog  began  to  settle  upon  the  lake.  It  grew  dark 
rapidly.  I  gradually  drew  my  legs  up  out  of  the  water, 
and  sat  like  a  frog  squatted  together  on  the  top  of  the 
rock. 

"My  wet  clothes  made  me  dreadfully  chilly  and  un- 
comfortable. But  through  the  gloom  I  could  still  see  the 
moose,  and  hear  him  splash  occasionally. 

"It  at  length  grew  too  dark  to  perceive  him,  even  at 
a  distance  of  fifty  feet ;  but,  all  through  the  evening,  I 
knew  by  his  movements  that  he  was  still  besieging  me. 

"  Hour  after  hour  went  by.  Despite  the  cold  and  the 
moose,  I  fell  into  a  drowse,  and  kept  drowsing  and  wak- 
ing alternately.  About  midnight,  as  I  judged,  I  heard 
the  moose  splashing,  and,  shortly  after,  caught  the  sound 
of  his  hoofs  in  the  sand.  He  had  left.  A  cracking  of 
the  brush  confirmed  it.  But  I  couldn't  bring  myself  to 
drop  into  the  water  in  the  dark,  and  so  sat  there  till 
daybreak. 

"  As  soon  as  it  had  got  partially  light,  I  swam  ashore, 
and  went  out  to  the  tree  where  the  moose  had  reared 
upon  me  to  find  my  gun.  It  lay  there  just  as  he  had 
knocked  it  out  of  my  hands.  Going  back  to  the  shore, 
I  found  the  track  where  the  moose  had  gone  away.  I 
resolved  to  try  him  once  more,  and  started  off  on  the 
trail,  keeping  a  cautious  lookout  ahead. 

"  In  less  than  half  an  hour  I  came  in  sight  of  him, 
eight  or  ten  rods  off,  standing  leaned  against  a  tree.  I 
knew  by  that  he  was  about  done  for,  and,  creeping  round 
on  one  side,  gave  him  another  shot ;  at  which  he  lurched 
over,  arid  lay  still. 

"  On  going  up,  I  found  him  quite  dead ;   and  from  his 


THE  MOOSE.  247 

appearance,  and  the  wound  in  his  breast,  I  think  he  must 
have  been  dead,  or  near  it,  as  he  stood  against  the  tree. 

"  Better  believe  I  wasn't  long  cutting  out  a  steak  and 
roasting  it. 

"And  so,"  continued  the  old  man,  "I  named  that 
ledge  out  there  in  the  water  Moose  Sock." 


THE  GEAY  WOLVES   OF  MAINE. 

ONE  snowy  da}',  while  rummaging  among  Kit's 
books  and  papers,  we  came  upon  a  delicate  little 
MS.  carefully  tied  up  with  a  pink  ribbon,  and  labelled, 
«  Our  Wolf-Story." 

"Let's  open  it,"  Wash  suggested  with  a  mischievous 
wink.  Kit,  I  should  add,  had  gone  to  the  stable. 

No  sooner  said  than  done. 

I  hastily  read  a  few  pages  ;  and  then,  hearing  him 
coming  back,  as  hastily  slipped  it  into  my  breast-pocket. 
From  what  I  had  read,  I  concluded  it  might  be  useful. 

A  secret  perusal  afterwards  made  me  resolve  to  keep 
hold  of  it  as  a  thrilling  reminiscence  of  the  heroine  of 
our  record.  Once  in  print,  Kit  cannot  well  help  himself; 
and  he  deserves  as  good  as  we  can  give  him  for  his 
winter's  wickedness.  The  appropriated  MS.  runneth 
tliusly :  — 

"  It  had  been  a  season  of  drought.  The  pastures  were 
'seared,'  and  all  the  ploughed  fields  were  like  ashes. 
The  long  corn-leaves  had  curled  into  crisp  rolls,  and  the 
grasshoppers  had  stripped  the  potato-fields  till  nothing 
but  the  pale-green  stalks  were  left. 

248 


THE   GRAY   WOLVES   OF   MAINE.  249 

"  But  the  great  wilderness  to  the  northward  which 
stretches  off  toward  Canada  presented  the  most  dreary 
spectacle.  Much  of  it  is  composed  of  what  lumbermen 
call  '  black  growth,'  —  spruce  and  hemlock.  Myriads  of 
worms  had  eaten  these  till  the  foliage  had  turned  to  dull 
yellow.  Thousands  of  acres  looked  as  if  blasted  by  fire. 
In  passing  through  the  forest,  it  required  both  hauds  to 
brush  away  the  worms  which  came  swinging  down  on 
their  webs  from  the  tree-tops  to  the  ground. 

"Hunting-parties  came  back  empty-handed.  There 
was  no  game,  they  said, — no  moose,  no  deer,  and  no 
partridges.  In  the  woods  there  was  an  almost  painful 
stillness.  Last  fall,  the  forest  had  echoed  to  the  chicker 
and  chirr  of  legions  of  squirrels,  red,  gray,  and  black ; 
but  now  they  were  gone — somewhere ;  starved,  perhaps. 

"  Early  in  September  the  corn  (what  there  was  of  it) 
was  gathered.  '  Huskings'  were  almost  a  mockery  that 
fall ;  but  the  boys  would  make  them,  according  to  custom. 
One  night,  about  the  middle  of  the  month,  we  were  all 
invited  to  Zack  Davis's,  —  'Uncle  Zack'  we  called  him. 
It  was  a  couple  of  miles  to  hjs  house.  Uncle  Zack  lived 
at  the  end  of  the  road  from  our  house,  which,  like  a 
river  towards  its  source,  dwindled  to  a  mere  path  through 
the  woods  and  up  the  valley. 

"  Addison  Edwards,  Tom,  and  their  two  sisters  Kate 
and  Rhoda,  and  myself,  —  five  of  us,  —  started  about 
dusk;  though  the  moon,  just  rising,  was  beginning  to 
make  it  quite  light. 

"  There  were  forty  or  fifty  boys  and  girls  at  the  gath- 
ering. It  did  not  take  long  to  husk  the  corn.  About  a 
bushel  of  ears  apiece  would  finish  it,  they  said.  Soj  after 


250  THE  GKAY  WOLVES   OF   MAINE. 

husking  and  a  supper  of  puddings  and  pumpkin-pies, 
those  who  wished  to  do  so  were  invited  to  remain  for  a 
1  good  time '  in  the  long  unfinished  kitchen.  Our  party 
were  among  the  number  who  wished,  of  course. 

"  There  were  all  sorts  of  plays  and  games,  with  plenty 
of  song-singing ;  and  it  was  considerably  past  midnight 
when  we  started  homeward.  The  moon  was  high  in  the 
heavens. 

"  It  was  the  'noon  of  night.'  The  silvery  light  rested 
over  all.  Beneath  it,  all  the  dreariness  of  the  long 
drought  was  softened.  We  sang,  as  we  went  down  the 
valley,  repetitions  of  the  songs  sung  in  the  evening,  and 
listened  as  the  tones  were  echoed  back  from  the  wild 
sides  of  the  valley. 

"  About  a  mile  below  Uncle  Zack's  the  path  left  the 
valley,  and  crossed  an  open  pasture.  We  were  still 
singing  ;  when  Ad  suddenly  cried,  — 

«  '  Hark  ! ' 

"  'Nothing  but  a  dog,'  said  Tom,  as  a  cry,  which  did 
sound  somewhat  like  the  howl  of  a  dog  in  the  night, 
came  to  our  ears  from  the  ridge  to  the  northward. 

"  We  stopped  to  listen. 

"  '  I  don't  believe  it  was  a  dog,'  said  Ad. 

"  'What  was  it,  then  ? '  demanded  Tom. 

" '  I  don't  know,'  said  Ad ;  '  but  it  sounded  too  wild 
and  fierce  for  a  dog.' 

"«Just  then  it  rang  out  again,  nearer,  —  a  long,  wild 
howl,  that  seemed  to  come  from  the  upper  edge  of  the 
pasture. 

"  '  I  tell  you,  that's  no  dog  ! '  cried  Ad. 

"  '  You  don't  suppose  it's  wolves,  do  you  ? '  exclaimed 
Kate. 


THE  GRAY  WOLVES  OF  MAINE.  251 

" '  "Wolves !  —  no ! '  cried  Tom.  '  There  hasn't  been  a 
wolf  seen  about  here  for  twenty  years.' 

"  We  stood  looking  up  toward  the  upper  side  of  the 
pasture.  Every  stump  and  bush  was  plainly  to  be  seen 
in  the  bright  light. 

"  Suddenly  a  dark  object,  an  animal  of  some  sort,  came 
out  into  the  open  land,  and  ran  swiftly  along  the  edge 
of  the  woods  for  twenty  or  thirty  rods.  Then  it  stopped ; 
and  again  we  heard  the  long  howl.  The  woodland 
echoed  to  it.  Just  then  the  forms  of  four  or  five  others 
came  into  sight  in  the  pasture. 

"  '  They  are  wolves ! '  exclaimed  Ad. 

"  *  Oh,  let's  run  ! '  cried  Rhoda,  catching  Kate's  arm. 

"  '  Go  ahead,  girls,'  shouted  Tom,  '  as  fast  as  you  can 
for  home ! ' 

"  They  did  not  need  any  further  urging,  but  ran  like 
foxes. 

"  A  pile  of  ( four-foot  wood '  was  lying  near  the  path. 
Some  of  it  was  small  and  round.  We  each  took  a  stick, 
and  ran  after  the  girls. 

"A  dozen  howls  seemed  to  burst  upon  the  air  all  at 
once. 

"  '  They  are  after  us ! '  cried  Ad. 

"  Glancing  over  my  shoulder,  I  saw  the  animals  —  a 
dark  pack  of  them  —  rushing  down  through  the  pasture 
in  full  chase.  The  moment  they  saw  us  run,  they  had 
started  in  pursuit.  The  still  forest  rang  out  afresh  with 
their  howls.  In  a  moment  more  we  had  overtaken  the 
girls. 

"  <  What  shall  we  do  with  them  ? '  panted  Tom.  '  We 
can't  get  home  —  with  them.' 


252  THE  GKAY   WOLVES   OF  MAINE. 

"  Kate  turned  round  suddenly.  '  The  Great  Kock  ! ' 
said  she  breathlessly.  '  We're  most  to  it :  can't  we  get 
upon  it  ? ' 

"  '  Run  for  it,  quick ! '  cried  Ad.     '  Perhaps  so.' 

"  The  'Great  E-ock '  was  a  huge  bowlder, — some  would 
call  it  a  ledge,  —  flat  on  the  top,  but  with  steep  sides. 
It  lay  a  few  rods  from  the  road,  on  the  lower  side.  We 
were  now  nearly  opposite  it;  and,  turning  out  of  the 
path,  ran  down  toward  it  for  dear  life.  The  wolves  were 
close  upon  us.  We  could  hear  them  tearing  down  the 
hillside,  and  crashing  through  the  brush. 

"'Up,  quick,  Kate  and  Rhode  !' cried  Tom.  'Put 
your  toes  into  that  crevice  :  I'll  help  you  up  ! ' 

"  They  went  up  like  cats.  The  top  of  the  rock  was 
nine  or  ten  feet  above  the  ground.  There  were  several 
cracks  and  seams  in  the  side.  We  climbed  after  them 
in  a  hurry,  but  had  barely  time  to  turn  round  with  our 
clubs  before  the  wolves  were  at  the  base  of  the  rock. 
With  wild  howls  and  yells  they  sprang  up  its  sides,  their 
nails  scratching  the  stone,  and  their  white  teeth  gleam- 
ing in  the  moonlight. 

"  One  of  them  obtained  a  foothold  on  the  edge  of  one 
of  the  seams,  and  with  a  second  bound  came  to  the  top 
of  the  xock,  his  fiery  green  eyes  showing  over  the  edge. 
We  all  three  struck  at  his  head;  and,  with  a  dog-like 
yell,  he  fell  back  to  the  ground  among  his  enraged  fel- 
lows, which  howled  and  snapped  at  him. 

"  We  drew  breath  again. 

" '  We  can  keep  them  down,'  said  Tom. 

"  '  Here  are  stones  to  throw  at  them  ! '  cried  Kate, 
gathering  up  several  the  size  of  goose-eggs. 


THE  GRAY   WOLVES   OF  MAINE.  253 

"  On  the  top  of  the  rock  was  a  space,  with  an  uneven 
surface,  as  large  as  a  room  eighteen  by  .twenty  feet  in 
size.  Low  shrubs,  poplar  and  white-birch,  grew  on  it, 
rooted  partly  into  the  rock,  and  partly  into  the  mossy 
soil  which  had  collected  there.  And  sure  enough,  as 
Kate  had  discovered,  there  were  plenty  of  fragments  of 
the  rock  lying  embedded  in  the  shoal  soil. 

"  Tom  and  Ad  caught  up  several  of  them,  and  threw 
them  with  all  their  strength  among  the  wolves. 

"  They  dodged  and  yelled  like  curs  when  hit ;  but  we 
couldn't  drive  them  away.  They  would  slink  back  a 
little,  and  then  charge  upon  the  rock  the  moment  we 
stopped  throwing. 

"  Suddenly  one  of  them  ran  round  to  the  other  side  of 
the  rock,  and  howled.  The  rest  instantly  followed  as  if 
he  had  called  them.  There  were  no  cracks  on  this  side ; 
but  the  ascent  was  less  abrupt.  We  stepped  hastily 
across.  The  moment  the  wolves  saw  us,  they  began  to 
leap  towards  us,  but  slipped  back  on  the  bare  rock,  tum- 
bling one  over  the  other. 

"When  one  came  within  reach,  we  gave  him  such  a 
whack  with  our  four-foot  sticks  as  to  knock  him  back  to 
the  bottom.  But  the  next  instant  he  would  leap  up 
again  as  fierce  and  eager  as  ever.  One,  a  gaunt  old 
male,  larger  than  the  others,  got  his  feet  upon  the  top 
several  times.  The  hardest  blows  we  could  deal  seemed 
only  to  stun  him  for  a  moment. 

"  Finding  they  could  not  reach  us  there,  they  ran 
round  to  the  side  next  to  the  road  again  ;  but,  after  a 
few  fruitless  leaps,  they  drew  back,  and  sat  down  just 
like  dogs,  and  watched  us  steadily.  Several  of  them 


254  THE  GEAY  WOLVES   OF  MAINE. 

were  'lolling,'  with  long  tongues  hanging  out;  and  they 
all,  from  time  to  time,  snapped  at  each  other  and  at  their 
own  bodies  as  if  covered  with  fleas. 

"Tom  counted  them  aloud  as  they  sat  glaring  up  at 
us.  'Eleven/  said  he.  'Aren't  they  a  wicked-looking 
set?' 

"  There  was  no  disputing  that.  Hungry  and  ferocious 
enough  they  looked.  The  girls  could  not  find  courage 
to  look  at  them. 

" '  Well,  what's  to  be  done  ? '  said  Ad,  as  we  stood 
there  with  our  clubs,  ready  to  meet  them  in  case  they 
made  another  rush.  '  How  are  we  to  get  home  ? ' 

"  '  We  might  shout  for  help,'  suggested  Tom. 

"  '  We  should  not  be  heard,'  said  Ad.  '  The  folks  at 
home  are  all  asleep,  probably.  They  wouldn't  think  of 
sitting  up  for  us.  And  they  won't  miss  us,  either,  till 
morning.  Besides,  as  it's  near  a  mile  from  home,  they 
wouldn't  hear  if  they  were  awake.' 

"  '  And  if  they  should  hear,  and  come  to  see  what  was 
the  matter,  wouldn't  the  wolves  get  them  ? '  asked  Kate. 

"That  had  not  occurred  to  us  before.  There  was 
danger  of  it,  certainly. 

"  '  Let's  tough  it  out,  then,  till  morning  ! '  exclaimed 
Tom.  '  It  won't  be  a  great  while  now.' 

"  '  They'll  go  off  as  soon  as  it  gets  light,'  said  Kate. 
'I've  read  that  they  always  slink  away  at  daylight.' 

"  As  Kate  was  speaking,  another  howl  was  heard  off 
in  the  forest.  It  was  answered  by  the  whole  pack ;  and, 
in  a  few  minutes,  three  others  came  straggling  in.  There- 
upon they  all  sprang,  snarling  and  snapping,  at  each 
other.  Then  they  ran  round  the  rock  again;  and  the 


THE  GRAY  WOLVES  OF  MAINE.  255 

new-comers  made  several  attempts  to  leap  upon  it.  But 
we  were  ready  to  receive  them,  and  gave  one  of  them  so 
severe  a  stroke,  that  he  measured  his  length  upon  the 
ground  handsomely.  As  he  fell,  the  others  rushed  upon 
him  as  if  to  tear  him  in  pieces;  but  he  jumped  up,  and 
shook  them  off. 

"After  a  great  deal  of  growling  and  grimacing,  they 
returned  to  their  old  position  in  front  of  the  rock,  and 
sat  down  to  watch  us. 

"  Kate  told  a  story  she  had  read  of  wolves  in  Russia, 
—  how  they  chased  a  sledge  in  which  a  family  were  trav- 
elling, and  how  the  father  had  thrown  out  two  of  the 
children  to  the  wolves  in  order  to  save  the  rest. 

"  And  Ad  told  us  how  they  catch  wolves  in  India  by 
digging  pits  for  them. 

" '  But  those  are  not  this  kind  of  wolves,'  said  Tom. 
'  These  are  gray  wolves.' 

"  The  night-air  was  chilly  and  damp.  Despite  the 
peril,  the  girls  were  shivering. 

"  '  Let's  give  them  another  pelting,  and  so  warm  our- 
selves,' said  Tom. 

"  We  dug  out  another  lot  of  stones,  and,  stripping  off 
our  jackets,  let  the  girls  wrap  themselves  in  them  while 
we  pelted  the  wolves. 

" '  All  ready  now ! '  cried  Ad,  balancing  a  stone  as 
large  as  his  fist.  '  Let's  aim  at  that  old  gaunt  one  that 
came  so  near  getting  up  here  twice,  —  all  three  of  us. 
See  if  we  cannot  kill  him.' 

"We  all  threw;  and  Tom  hit  him  plump  in  the 
breast. 

"  The  wolves  all  sprang  up,  howling. 


256  THE  GRAY   WOLVES   OF  MAINE. 

"  '  Keep  your  eye  on  him ! '  cried  Ad,  catching  up 
another  stone. 

"We  all  threw  again;  and  Ad  hit  him  hard  on  the 
head,  fairly  knocking  him  over:  but  he  sprang  to  his 
feet  as  the  rest  of  the  wolves  crowded  upon  him.  I  think 
Ad's  stone  must  have  drawn  blood;  for  all  the  others 
rushed  at  him,  snapping  their  jaws.  At  our  next  throw, 
the  stones,  by  a  queer  accident,  all  hit  another  wolf, 
bringing  him  to  the  ground  instantly.  He  sprang  up  on 
three  legs  :  the  other  seemed  to  be  broken  and  helpless. 
The  rest  of  the  pack  rushed  upon  him  ;  and  he  ran  limp- 
ing off,  with  them  at  his  heels.  We  heard  them  go 
cracking  away  into  the  woods  on  the  other  side  of  the 
road.  A  great  howling  and  yelling  arose;  and  in  a  short 
time  they  all  came  panting  back  again,  —  all  save  the 
one  that  went  off  on  three  legs.  We  saw  no  more  of  him. 

"  We  stoned  them  at  intervals  during  the  night,  but 
made  no  more  such  lucky  hits. 

"  It  seemed  as  if  morning  never  would  come,  the  hours 
crawled  by  so  slowly.  At  last  day  broke,  and  the  moon- 
light gradually  gave  place  to  daylight.  The  wolves  grew 
uneasy.  They  howled,  and  hung  about  a  while  longer: 
then,  one  by  one,  like  evil  spirits  of  the  night,  they 
sneaked  off  into  the  woods. 

"  We  waited  till  we  were  sure  they  had  really  de- 
parted ;  then  came  down  from  the  ruck,  and  reached  home 
just  as  the  folks  were  coming  down  stairs  for  the  day. 
You  can  easily  imagine  their  surprise  when  they  learned 
how  we  had  passed  the  night. 

"  The  wolves  skulked  about  the  pastures  during  the 
rest  of  the  fall.  They  were  starved  out  of  the  forest, 


THE  GKAY  WOLVES  OF  MAINE.  257 

people  said.     Several  other  persons  had  narrow  escapes 
from  them. 

"  I  never  go  past  the  'Great  Koek'  without  a  thankful 
feeling  that  it  was  placed  just  in  that  particular  spot. 
Had  it  not  been  there,  or  if  Kate  had  not  thought  of  it 
as  she  did,  we  should  never  have  reached  home  alive." 
17 


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